Within
by WinterAlice
Summary: Nine year old Ash Ketchum discoverer's that he possesses Aura and learns a tragic family secret. How will this change his journey? Is it his fate to meet the same end as his father? Lucky for Ash he's surrounded by loyal Pokemon that share his love for adventure and a loving makeshift family that will stop at nothing to make sure history doesn't repeat itself.
1. Chapter 1

Nine year old Ash Ketchum ran through the woods on the outskirts of pallet, Gary Oak besides him.

"You're gonna...be...in so much trouble" Gary huffed and the boys ran through a creek, not caring that they got wet.

"You too!" Ash cried out. "You came along too!"

"Yeah" Gary agreed. "To keep you out of trouble!"

"And look how well that tur...Hey!"

"Shh!" Gary hushed Ash as he pulled the other boy into a large hollow log.

A few seconds later they heard the rage filled cries of a Fearow the boys had accidentally stumbled upon. The angered mother had chased the boys the last half mile for daring to look upon her egg.

About a hundred feet from the boys was the edge of the woods. Beyond that was the top of a grass hill that led down to Pallet Town.

"We need to make a break for it" Ash whispered.

"Are you crazy!" Gary whispered back. "As soon as it sees us we're dead! The forest is the only cover we have!"

"We're dead staying here too. It's gonna find us eventually and this tree isn't gonna keep it out. If we can just get over the edge of the hill maybe someone will see us and help."

"And get caught. We'll be in so much trouble."

"I bet Viola will be in more though. I bet she knew the Fearow was here, she led us right to it. There was never any mega stones."

"Of course there wasn't!" Gary whispered screamed at Ash, his eyes bulging.

"You never know" Ash shrugged. "They show up in the weirdest places."

Gary conceded to that with a huff. "If we're going down we're bringing Viola down with us."

"To do that we need to get past that Fearow though" Ash said with a smirk.

"Ohwww, it's on" Gary said flashing Ash a similar smirk. For the moment the boys desire for revenge on their scheming classmate overwhelming their fear of the apex predator.

"One" Ash counted getting into a ready stance.

"Two" Gary said, his eyes locked on the hill top.

"Three!" The boys said together as they took off from their makeshift hiding spot.

The boys were almost to the tree line when they heard an angered cry behind them. Ash glanced back just in time to see the Fearow dive, barely miss them and instead crash into the forest floor. Ash hoped that would be the end of it but to his dismay heard another crash as the bird tried to break through the forest canopy, trying to get back into the sky.

Ash and Gary finally made it out of the forest and start tumbling down the hill. Ash caught a glance of a worried looking Professor Oak and a teary eyed Ella, another one of the boys classmates and Viola's best friend, making their way up the hill. Ella had probably gone to get help as soon as she found up what Viola was up to. It was sorta her nonofficial job.

Ash was broke out of his musing as he heard a cry of alarm from the professor. He glanced back to get a look of the Fearow closing in on Gary's back.

When asked later Ash wouldn't remember how he got behind Gary. How he crossed his arms and tucked in head, getting between his best friend and the Fearow. It was all instinct.

What Ash would remember was the sudden burst of energy that flowed from the air around him to form a protective shield. He would remember how the deadly rage in the Fearows eyes just mere feet from him turned to surprise too late. He would remember the feeling of getting the breath knocked out of him when the Fearow collided with the shield. The Fearow hadn't touched him, but he still fell to the ground gasping for breath like he had been sucker punched.

Ash shackley rolled onto his stomach to look up the hill to find out what happened to the Fearow. To his horror it was starting to get back up, and looked angrier than ever. Before the bird could make a move though a large orange shape blocked his vision. Ash let himself collapse with relief and try to steady his breathing knowing that he was safe now, there was no way the Fearow or anything else was getting past Oak"s Dragonite.

"Ash!"

Before Ash could say anything Gary was on him, yanking him up so he was supported by the others boy body, his head coming to fall on his friend's shoulder.

"Don't ever do that again" Gary horsley said. Ash felt faint distant surprise that the other boy was crying.

"Ash?"

Ash looked up to see Professor Oak kneeling in front of him, the perfect picture of concerned. Dragonite stood behind him, letting out soft worried cry's. The professor was holding a pokeball Ash assumed held a freshly caught Fearow.

So many questions surged through Ash's head. How was he alive? What did he just do? Was he psychic? Could he do it again?

"What just happened?"

After Professor Oak was assured Ash was okay, just exhausted, he had walked the boy home and refused to answer any of his questions. The professor told Ash that it wasn't his place, and that Ash would have to talk to his mother.

On the way there Gary had filled his grandfather in on what happened. The man wasn't surprised, Ella had already told the professor that and more. Oak let Ash and Gary know that Viola had indeed sent them to where she knew there was a nesting Fearow. It was her idea of some cynical prank and the girl was in big trouble with both her parents and Oak. That didn't mean Gary and Ash were off the hook though, they knew never to go into the forest without an adult or Pokemon. Their punishment could wait until tomorrow though and it would be light seeing as how the professor thought their near death experience was bad enough.

Oak did praise them on their quick thinking. They probably should have realized that Ella had gone to get help as she always did when Violas pranks and dares turned dangerous or bullying. The smartest thing to do would have been to hide and wait for an adult. But the boys had no way of knowing anyone was coming, and with the knowledge their sacred nine year brains had they had acted in probably the best way they could.

Once they reached the Ketchum residence Oak had taken Delia aside to explain what happened.

Gary and Ash huddled on the couch, the dark haired boy pulling a large blanket off the back of the sofa for them.

Gary and Ash's friendship had been suffering lately. Gary's minor fame and wealth had been starting to go to his head, turning the boy arrogant and sometimes a bit of a bully. This incident had wiped those thoughts from his head quite painfully. Ash's bravery, quick thinking, and strange ability had been what saved them. Not Gary's wealth or fame and definitely not any super smarts the boy had previously been sure he inherited from his grandfather.

When the adults came back in the room Delia looked visibly shaken. The woman was carrying two mugs though and had a determined look on her face.

Delia passed the two mugs to the boys and Ash took a curious sniff feeling his first smile in hours spread across his face. His favorite, white chocolate peppermint tea.

"Gary", Oak said by the door. "We should be leaving".

"No, no. It's alright" Delia assured with a small smile. "I'm sure whatever I tell Ash will get to Gary eventually, and we're practically family anyway."

It was true. Everyone in Pallet knew the Oak and Ketchum family's were pretty much the same thing. Delia and Samuel's daughter Leaf had been best friends growing up. Delia had spent most of her childhood at the lab because her parents often traveled for work and cared more about promotions than their own daughter. When the girls had turned 13 Delia had decided to stay at the lab and start an apprenticeship with the professor while leaf became a traveling trainer. On the road leaf had met Gary and his sister's Daisy father Bule. They were never married and Blue bailed when he found out Leaf was pregnant, they were both 19. 5 years later when Leaf decided she wanted she wanted to compete in another conference she had come home devastated and pregnant with Gary. She hadn't even made it passed qualifying rounds. She never told anyone what happened other than Blue was Gary's father. She died in childbirth.

A few years before Leaf got pregnant with Daisy while she was still a trainer Delia had gone to watch her compete at the Indigo League. That's where Delia met and fell in love with Red Knight. That was also the year Red became Champion. They married three years later, and Delia became pregnant with Ash five years after that. Red died on a league mission a few months before Ash was due. No one knew what really happened. Red had apparently been in a huge rush when he left his office on his Charizard. His body was found on the Indigo Plateau doorstep three days later. His Pokemon are still missing.

Devastated Delia moved back to Pallet to be close to what family she had left. It also didn't hurt that Professor Oak was a former Champion who could protect her and her newborn son while still being close to the Indigo Plateau in case they needed backup. Foul play still wasn't ruled out in Red's death. She also gave Ash her maiden name, hoping to throw anyone who came looking for him off his tail.

Shortly after Red's death Lance Blackthorn, Red's student, swept the Indigo conference and Elite Four to become Champion. The man and his team we're in a righteous anger after their mentor's death and were determined to find out what happened. In doing so Lance destroyed most criminal organizations in Kanto and Johto. The only one that has managed to escape him so far was Team Rocket.

Not finding who killed Red, Lance decided to honor his mentor and older brother figure by being the best Champion he could and taking care of Red's family. While Lance couldn't be around as much as he wanted he became the closest thing Ash had to a father. He usually found time to stop by at least a couple hours a week to help out around the house and spend time with Ash.

After Leaf died in childbirth Delia became a mother for not only Ash but a mother figure for Gary as well. And on the flip side Samula was not only Gary's grandfather but a grandfather figure for Ash also.

Delia took a deep breath. "I probably should have told you about this along time ago Ash. You deserve to know. Your father had an enquic gift called Aura. From what I understand it's similar to psychic power but instead of the power coming from the mind it comes from the soul. And it's much rarer. Also while psychic powers usually appear randomly Aura is passed down through a family.A fully mature Aura user is called an Aura Guardian. Yours and your father's ancestor you inherited your power from was the brother of a very famous Aura Guardian named Sir Araon. Red kept his power a secret from the general public. It was his element of surprise that helped him take down Team Rocket. Of course they never stayed down" Delia grumbled, looking unhappily out the window. It's no secret that Team Rocket springing up again after all her husband had done infuriated the woman.

Ash stared at his hands, trying to will them to stop shaking. Already he could tell wielding this power would be a huge responsibility. What if he lost control of it? Young Psychics often hurt the people closest to them by accident. What if next time instead of saving Gary he was hurting him?

"Calm down Ash" Oak said breaking Ash out of his thoughts. The Professor could always tell what the boys were thinking, Ash often questioned if the man was a secret psychic. "Aura comes from the soul, remember. That means it's pretty much impossible for you to hurt someone you don't mean or want to."

Ash gave the man a small grateful smile and let himself relax slightly, his biggest worry now off his mind.

"What can Ash do with Aura?" Gary asked, just as wide eyed and curious as Ash.

Ash perked up at that, his spirits lifted a bit now that he knew he wasn't gonna hurt anyone. His natural unsatisfiable curiosity starting to kick in.

"Red never shared much about it with me to be honest" Delia admitted. "He tried his hardest to keep work and home separate. Plus he was very secretive about it. I do know that he was able to understand his Pokemon though".

"Really!" Ash exploded. His favorite thing in the entire world was Pokemon, being able to talk to them was his biggest wish come true. Even more so than becoming a Pokemon Master. The difference was that until a minute ago the former was the only feasible option.

"Really" Delia said, a smile starting to form on her face. "To know more you're going to have to ask Lance. I know your dad tried to teach him before he died." Delia's smile disappeared. "I don't want this to scare you Ash, but use caution. We believe Aura had something to do with your father's death" Delia said with a grim look on her face.

"What?" Ash asked, his excitement disappearing like water down the drain.

"Yes" Oak said continuing the story. "The Tree Of Beginning in north western Kanto is suppose to be the center of all Aura. Cameran city and palace was built over 1000 years ago to protect it and jealously guard many secrets about the tree and Arua to this day. It's the only place any Aura adapt might go to find a teacher." Here Oak took a deep breath before he continued on, both boys hanging on his every word. "The last place Lance was able to track Red to was Camaran City, a witness spotted him heading towards the Tree Of Beginning."

The adults gave the boys a minute to let that sink in. Ash felt numb. So much life altering information had just been dumped on him. What happened to his father? Was it Aura that really killed him? Or was it something else?

"Queen Iiene of Camaran City told Lance that Red died a hero's death. Sacrificing himself to save the Tree Of Beginning" Oak continued. "The Tree will begin to wilt every 100 years, and an Aura Guardian will travel to the tree never to be seen again. It's believed the Aura Guardian sacrifices all his Aura to save the tree, killing himself in the process. Without the Tree, all life force will begin to fade until everything dies. The thing that was different about Red's death is that the Tree's cycle was 30 years early, and Red's body was discovered outside the Plateau. A body has never been discovered before, researchers presumed it becomes part of the tree. That's all the queen knows. The only one who might know more is the Mew that protects the Tree" Oak trailed off.

Ash didn't know he was crying until his mom wrapped her arms around him. He laid his head on her shoulder and sobbed. He had almost been killed today, discovered strange new powers, and learned the secret of his father's death. Everything his young mind understood had just been flipped upside down.

A few minutes later Ash was able to control himself. He pushed himself up and accepted the tissue Gary handed him. At the end of the day he was alive, he had strange but cool new powers(he might be able to talk to Pokemon!), and his father had died saving the world. Red hadn't be murdered like he always thought.

"I think that's enough for one night" Delia said. "How about I cook dinner and you boys watch a movie?"

Ash spent the rest of evening surrounded by his family. Gary begged to stay the night when his Grandfather left, which Oak allowed. But he expected to see the boys at noon to paint the new fence around one of the pastures. Neither boy was off the hook for going into the woods.

While the boys were blowing up the air mattress in the living room Delia brought Ash the phone.

"Ash?" Lance's voice came through the speaker.

"Lance!" Ash exclaimed, getting Gary's attention. The brown haired boy hurried over, half tackling Ash in the process, trying to press his face as close as possible to the phone.

"Get off me!" Ash protested.

"I just want to hear" Gary begged, shoving himself further into Ash's personal space.

Ash didn't know why Gary always went complete fanboy over Lance. His own grandfather was a former Champion and the Dragonmaster had been around his whole life. At least Gary was able to rein himself in every time Lance visited after going completely gaga the first few minutes. Ash would then think Gary was over it only for him to see one of Lance's battles on TV and the fanboying would begin anew. It use to annoy Ash but Lance had turned it into a bit of a joke between them. Lance's own best friend Steven Stone was quite like Gary in the way that he was "always serious and never had fun". Lance told Ash you gotta take rare moments like these and never let them forget it.

"Yeah, but you don't need to be on top of me to do that!" Ash shouted, trying to wedge his knee in between them so he can push the other boy off.

Laughter could be heard over the phone. "Gary, if you don't mind I need to talk to Ash. I'll see you tomorrow though."

"You are?" Ash asked happily, finally getting Gary off him. The other boy dropped to the side, not bothering to hide his excitement either. "I thought you weren't coming until Friday?"

"Yeah, well you boys were almost killed and you've had several big bombshells dropped on you today Ash. I'm coming tomorrow morning and staying through Friday. I should be there before you wake up."

"Really!" Ash asked excited.

"Really" Lance answered, humor creeping into his tone.

"You boys should get in bed. Your mom told me you and Gary have a long day ahead of you painting fences. I don't need to talk to you about how stupid it was to go into the forest alone do I?"

"No sir" Ash answered in a low voice. It didn't take a genius to work out the man was disappointed in him.

"Good, now off to bed. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Okay, night Lance."

"Goodnight Ash. Sleep well."

Ash put the phone back in it's charging port and crawled under the sheets next to Gary.

"Tomorrow's gonna suck isn't it" Gary said.

"For sure" Ash answered as he got comfortable.

"Hey Gary" Ash said after awhile, staring up at the ceiling.

"Huh" the other boy grunted half asleep.

"You didn't need to come with me into the forest today. Thanks for not leaving me alone."

"Of course you idiot" Gary huffed out. "We're brothers, we stick together. Now go to sleep, I need my beauty rest."

Ash let out a small laugh before turning over and getting comfortable. His world had been flipped upside down today, but he somehow knew it was for the best.

Ash woke up the next morning to Gary's obnoxiously loud voice drifting from the kitchen.

The boy rubbed at his eyes to get the sleep out of them and stretched, letting out a moan. Everything was sore. He felt like he just got the stuffing beat out of him.

Sooner rather than later the enticing smell of breakfast encouraged Ash to get up. He stumbled his way into the kitchen and took a seat at the dining table.

"Morning" Gary greeted cheerfully from his seat besides Ash, his lip covered in a chocolate milk stash.

"Morning" Ash grumbled back, burying his head in his arms.

"Ash honey, are you okay?" Delia asked, moving the bacon off the heat of the stove. Delia knelt in front of Ash, laying the back side of her hand across his forehead to gauge his temperature.

"Fine" Ash mumbled, "Just sore."

"I bet" said another voice making Ash jump. Lance set a glass of chocolate milk down in front of him, a huge smile on his face. "All I was ever able to do with Aura was sense the energy around me and that took a lot out of me. You put up a full blow protect yesterday and was able to take a huge hit with it." Lance ruffled Ash's hair much to the boy's annoyance before leaning against the counter. "Think of it like you just ran a huge marathon without ever jogging or running in your life before."

Ash nodded, that made sense. From what he understood Aura was just a part of himself he had never used before. Like a muscle. And he had pushed that muscle to the max yesterday, of course he was sore.

Delia's worries averted she moved to the fridge and pulled the egg carton out. "So there's no way Aura can GET YOUR HANDS OFF THE BACON!"

Lance ducked when Delia threw a soon at him, a piece of bacon hanging from his mouth.

"It was getting cold" he argued back weakly.

On the other side of the room the boys were in fits of laughter, not bothering to try to hide it.

"Sit" Deila ordered, pointing at the table. "That way I don't have to keep an eye on you."

"But" before Lance could finish his body was outlined by a pink glow, psychic power forcing him into the chair. Even without turning away from the now cooking eggs Mr. Mime somehow managed to look very proud of himself.

"Thank you Mimey" Deila said with a soft smile. Mr. Mime turned from the stove for only a second to sault Deila with his spatula before getting back to work.

"Laugh it up now you two" Lance directed at the two boys. "We'll see who's laughing later".

"Me" Delia answered sounding smug. "Watching you muck out the barn today."

"What!" Lance exclaimed not being able to hide the horror in his voice.

"Someone has to keep an eye on Viola. She can't be in there by herself with that many Tauros. Plus there's no way a little kid can get it done in one day by herself. Who else but the big brave noble Champion to help her."

Lance sputtered back while trying to come up with some counter argument. Ash and Gary continued to laugh.

"They bicker worse than you and Daisy" Ash whispered to Gary.

"I know" the other boy said between laughs. "And that's saying something."

The next day found Ash and Lance sitting across from each other on the Ketchum lawn. Ash was eager to start learning about Aura. Ever since he first used it two days ago he had something like an itch in the back of his mind that he couldn't scratch that had been becoming worse as time went on.

"The way your dad starting teaching me about Aura was to meditate in a way. To give yourself over to the world around you. Let it feel you and you feel it. Experienced Aura Guardians can feel the shape the energy takes, being able to see blinded that way. Even able to see through walls. Your dad described it similar to night or heat vision. For now all you will feel is like that energy is assaulting you. Like you're caught up in the middle of a tornado of it. Don't expect to be able to sense it at all at first. Some people will get it the first day, some it will take weeks. Once you're able to sense the energy it should feel like a breakthrough and you'll progress quickly until you get to that overwhelming point. Your next breakthrough after that will be when the energy starts to take shape. And so forth."

"Every person has the potential to learn to manipulate Aura, like Pokemon can learn moves of different types. Some people like you and your father have it a lot easier because you are born with Aura already inside you, like a Pokemon having a much easier time learning moves of it own type. The rest of us, once again like a Pokemon using a move of a different type, have to learn to sense Aura around them, draw it to them, then manipulate it. That's why I never got far with it. For you the hardest part is already done. Aura is already within, you don't need to draw it from other places."

"I suggest you start by actually meditating on the feelings you experienced when you created that protect. You have already felt it, so you should have an easier time replicating it. Other than that I don't know how to help you. There's one other Aura Guardian I know that will probably be willing to teach you. I already reached out to him the night your mom called. He wants to meet you first but there shouldn't be any problems."

Ash nodded his understanding. He already knew what Lance could teach him was limited, but was surprised he had already managed to find a possible teacher for him.

"I'll leave you to it. Good luck. I'll be in the house if you need anything."

Ash took a deep breath, letting the world around him melt about. All that mattered was his breathing. Then he thought back to the moment he used protect. He discarded thoughts about the fear, saving Gary, the Fearow, or the impact. All that mattered was what the energy felt like.

It was like wind without the air currents. It felt like electricity without the static. It felt alive.

After Ash had a good idea of what he was looking for he slipped out of meditation. The next part was tricky, what Lance had described was not quite meditation.

Last year Lance had taught him and Gary to meditate. He said it was a good way to reflect and work out problems. It was something very much in the mind. What he was trying to do next was with his soul.

Ash placed one of his hands flat on the tree next to him. He felt the bark and then tried to imagine what was under it. The wood and the water. He imagined he could feel the leaves up high and the roots down below. Then Ash started looking for the energy in it, the Aura.

Ash didn't feel anything. And try as he might over the next few days he couldn't find anything.

But Ash didn't give up. He only stopped when someone forced him inside to eat or sleep. Deila and Lance were starting to get concerned that Ash was getting obsessed but didn't stop him just yet. This was Ash's journey, and as aggravating as it was they couldn't help him. Ash tried to explain it to them. It was like some part of him he didn't know was there was missing, and now that he was aware of it he desperately needed it back.

Friday finally rolled around and Ash still hadn't made any progress. He was still sitting besides the stupid tree and the stupid energy was still eluding him. Lance was due to leave in a few hours and Ash knew he should probably be spending time with him but he just couldn't. He needed to get his Aura back. The longer it went on the more and more the feeling of a hand closing around his throat got worse.

"You need to give. It's your own walls that are blocking the Aura out."

Ash starled and whipped his head around to face the newcomer. The man before him wore black pants and a blue blazer with black accents. Under the blazer was a black shirt with strang gold marking. What really stole Ash's attention though was the flamboyant hat on his head. It looked like some strange spiked fedora matching his blazers color. The man looked down on him with kind blue eyes but other than that it was hard to tell what his face looked like. The man's spiked brown hair and his hat covered most of it.

"What?" Ash blurted out, thoroughly confused.

"The tree" the man said. He knelt down next to Ash and placed his own hand on the tree. "It's Aura has been trying to reach for you, can you feel it."

"No" Ash answered, figuring that this must be his potential teach Lance sent for. "I can't feel anything. Why? What am I doing wrong?"

"Aura is mostly about connection. Your connection to your own Aura and others. Everything has Aura, living and nonliving. The air, the flowers, the rocks, the moon, Pokemon, you, me, the tree. Aura is much stronger from living organisms though. It is believed Aura is life's energy and it is also believed nonliving things have Aura because they are so in tune with life. Everything is connected in some way or another. For you to sense the tree's Aura you have to connect with it. The tree's Aura responded, but you haven't responded back because you can't feel it. Until you can unlock your own Aura you can't connect with it."

Seeing Ash's confused face the man elaborated "The tree has extended its hand to you, now you just need to reach and take it. But you are a blind and deaf man chained to a wall. To be able to reach out with your Aura you first need to unlock it first. When you used protect a few days ago your desperation broke into it. But you didn't know what was going on and didn't accept it. So your Aura locked itself away again. But it's lock is cracked and fragile now, it should be easy for you to get in again."

"But if it's locked how did I reach it before?" Ash asked.

"Think as if your Aura is trapped in a little ball in your chest. Unable to move or grow. Once you unlock it the Aura will encompass your whole body, reaching out through it, taking forms, and growing stronger with exercise. Like a muscle. Sometimes in moments of distress though that little ball temporally bursts to keep you safe. Pokemon are born with their energy unlocked. It's believed humans bodies aren't strong enough in their infancy to handle psychic power or Aura, so the energy locks itself away until we are ready. Psychic's usually come into their power around seven or eight years of age and so do Aura Guardians. The difference is Psychics will have access to their power right away, it will unlock itself. It will start to show itself in the midst of any heighten emotion the child may have. An Aura Guardians energy stays locked until we reach for it, only showing itself in life threatening situations. Some people have gone their whole life without knowing they have it. But mostly Aura is passed down through families, and with it the knowledge of how to use Arua."

"Ha" the man said sheepishly, rubbing his head. "I'm rambling aren't I."

"It's okay" Ash encouraged eagerly, his eyes bright. "Please don't stop!" The more the mystery person talked the more things fell into place for Ash. Arua was finally starting to make more sense.

"All you need to do is reach for your own Aura like you were with the tree, acknowledge it, and accept it. Once you do that there is no going back."

"Now" the man said while standing. "I don't think I caught your name young man."

"I'm Ash" the boy said while also standing, extending his hand.

"And I'm Riley" the man said with a smile while shaking Ash's hand.

"Now Ash" Riley said, "I have a very important question for you. Why do you want to become an Aura Guardian?"

"Mostly I want to be able to talk to Pokemon. Pokemon are the best things in the world! To be able to communicate with Pokemon, especially my own, would make me the happiest person on the planet!" The boy exclaimed. "Plus my dream is to be a Pokemon Master, and that usually takes the form of either an experienced Gym Leader, Elite Four member, or Champion. That means it will be my job to protect people. Protect my Pokemon, people following me, and the public. Aura can help me do that, help bring more people home to their families."

"Spoken like a true hero" Riley said softly. "Alright! I expect to see you here 8:00 AM sharp tomorrow. Your real training starts then!"

"Really! Really, really really!" Ash shouted, jumping up and down for joy.

"Yep" Riley agreed. "Now get out here before I change my mind. I think you parents want to see you" Riley teased, sending a side eye towards the twitching curtains in the window of the Ketchum house.

Ash thanked Riley one more time before dashing into the house, yelling the good news to Deila and Lance. The two congratulated him, relieved to see him back to his old self.

Over the next few years Riley would visit for about a week once a month. Ash learned fast under him. He unlocked his Aura the very same day Riley started training him. Ash would describe it as the most freeing experience in his life. Like a heavy weight had been lifted off him that he didn't even know was there. Riley told him to wait until he joined his Aura with his Pokemon for the first time. The Aura Guardian also informed Ash of ways Aura was working in the `world around him that he never realized before.

Turns out Mega Evolution was just a trainers and Pokemon Aura becoming one. Mega and key stones just picked up the frequency of the energy of the bond between trainers with no Aura and Pokemon who hadn't unlocked their Aura. That why some Pokemon could mega evolve without a mega stone. Watching Riley and his Lucario mega evolve without a mega or key stone had been the coolest thing ever. Even Lance was amazed.

It was then Lance asked Riley if he would pick up his own training where Red had left off. Riley politely denied. He wanted to focus on Ash, but Ash in a year or two would most likely be experienced enough to pick up Lance's training himself.

And Ash had been. A year and a half after Ash starting training under Riley, Ash started to train Lance too. Riley said it was the final test of his understanding on basic concepts, to be able to teach Aura to someone not naturally gifted with it. In the two and a half years since Lance was able to use a bleary form of Aura sight but the man said it was becoming clearer every day. It had already saved lives on League missions because Lance could make out enough to spot things like bombs and count how many hostiles were in a building before entering.

Not that these missions happened often. Team Rocket was keeping a low profile for some reason the last few years and other criminal groups that sprung up were quickly shut down.

Ash also learned that Pokemon were born with every single energy type inside them, but only energy of their own type was unlocked from birth. The energy of a Pokemon's same type tended to grow much faster and stronger than other types. That was why a Dragonites flamethrower might be powerful but it could never amount to that of a Charizard with the same age and experience. Similar as to how a Charizard's dragon claw would never be on the same level of a Dragonites that was the same age and experience level.

Some energy types clashed though. That's where type advantage came from and why Pokemon could never learn to use some moves, even if they unlocked that energy type. Like say a water type could almost never learn a fire type move. Their base type and energy just clashed with the other too much, canceling it out. Majority of trainers didn't know that. Their Pokemon unlocking the energy of other types through instinct, tough battles and evolution. Ash on the other hand did, and would be able to train his Pokemon to unlock those other types much quicker.

Ash mastered Aura sight and Protect, and was well on his way to mastering Quick Guard and learning healing techniques.

Along with teaching Ash Aura, Riley also began to teach Ash martial arts. Something Ash loved and picked up on quickly. The boy also improved in school, while Ash would never be able to match people like Gary or Ella in the classroom his study habits did improve over the years and he rose to one of the top students.

When Ash was eight he was diagnosed with ADHD. After his Aura was unlocked he was able to sit still and think a lot longer, it also helped with his focus. While Ash was in no way cured his ADHD was controllable now and no longer a hindrance when he needed to get things done. That said he still let loose with other kids quite often and put all that extra energy to good use. He was still a child after all.

During the summer Deila and Lance took Ash and Gary out on camping trips to teach them how to survive in the wild and avoid dangerous wild Pokemon. Just because they had Pokemon when they left on their journeys didn't mean their little starters could stand up to a full grown Pigeot on the way to Viridian City.

Lance also gifted Ash and Gary with upgraded pokenavs. He explained technically it was a gift from Steven who had heard a lot about the boys and vice versa even though they had never actually met. The pokenavs would let the boys switch Pokemon from anywhere, make calls from anywhere, access things like the internet from anywhere, and most importantly in Lance's opinion it had a built in tracker and Smart Distress Signal.

The Smart Distress Signal was an AI that was built to listen to everything going on around the boys and send an SOS, the boys location, and a recording of whatever the AI heard it thought was a threat to the nearest gym leader, the Elite Four, Lance and Steven. It would be stupid thinking the boys didn't have a target painted on their backs. Ash was the son of the former Champion and raised by the new one. Gary was also the grandson of a former Champion and the region's official professor. And anyone in Pallet could tell Lance cared about Gary, and Oak cared about Ash. The boys guardians had tried to keep their existence low profile and had succeeded for the most part but anyone in Pattet could talk. Daisy had been kidnapped and held for ransom when she first started her journey. She was able to get her Pokemon back and escape before authorities had a chance to make a move though. Since then she always traveled in other regions an kept little contact with her family, Professor Oak had been devastated. Lance had gone ahead and pre programmed the numbers of all the gym leaders and Elite Four in case of an emergency. He put himself, Delia, Professor Oak, and Steven on speed dial.

Lance drilled into the boy's head that while he may spoil them not to expect special treatment from the League. He trained them and got them fancy gadgets as a head start but it was with his own money and his own time. Yes, the Kanto gym leaders and Elite Four were a bit of a family but Ash and Gary hadn't been introduced yet. And in the future they may treat the boys however they wanted with their own time and their own money. Never on the League. Never showing any sort of official favoritism. The boys would have to earn their badges, train their Pokemon, and reach the top with as much struggle as any other trainer. They were just being set on the right path by people who cared about them that happened to be in positions to help. They were very lucky. And the boys knew it. They were also very, very grateful.

 **That's a wrap on my first chapter! Wow! Over 6'000 words!**

 **I tried to cram all the background and important info into this while still keeping you interested. Hope I succeeded!**

 **If you haven't noticed I suck at grammar and spelling and am looking for a Beta. If you would like to volunteer or know anyone who might be interested please send me a PM.**

 **I hoped you liked the character history. I had a rough idea planned and knew I wanted to include Lance because he's my favorite and it just sorta played out as I wrote. I think it turned out okay. Original to the best of my knowledge while still being slightly possible in Canon if you squint and look at it sideways. I've only ever wrote fluffy Percy Jackson family stuff so this is new to me. But I did want to give Ash more family support. That family will grow and mostly center around his Pokemon but characters like Deila and Lance are gonna be a constant. Ash is still a kid who needs his parents to guide him. I sorta feel bad for Delia though, as soon as Team Rocket comes in I can already see myself writing mostly Lance since he'll probably be coming to the rescue at least once. You guys can keep me in check on that (;**

 **I'm influenced by my some of my favorite Pokemon fanfics like "Ashes of the Past" and "Traveler". Like I got the idea about more of family like league from Traveler, I'm just running with it. Expect to see a lot of Lance and Steven, but in this pic they will be Uncle/Dad instead of mentor. Gary also. They're still rivals but the incident with the Fearow brought them closer together, finally cementing their relationship as brothers instead of drifting apart as they would have without the life-death situation. Let me know if I accidentally get too close to something you've read.**

 **OC'S! I've already included some like Viola and Ella and I have one more major one planned but all the minor ones are up to you guys! Let me know looks, personality, Pokemon ect. And later I will take your suggestions for my OC's Pokemon.**

 **I already have Ash's team planned out for quite awhile but you guys are welcome to guess! I might drop hints in PM's if you get close (;**

 **And finally…..**

 **REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

Thirteen year old Ash Ketchum woke up the morning he started his Pokemon journey rested and refreshed.

He had been preparing for this day almost nonstop for the last four years. He felt ready both mentally and physically.

Unlike most children on their first day of being trainers Ash wasn't worrying about which Pokemon he would choose. There were five kids in Ash's class that had passed their trainer exams first try and would be starting today. Ash and Gary passed of course. Joining them was Viola and Ella and also surprisingly another classmate named Jerome. No one had expected Jerome to pass first try leaving Professor Oak scrambling last minute to find another suitable starter. Even if Jerome hadn't passed there would still have been four kids and three traditional starters.

Ash had been told not to worry, Riley had left a Pokemon for him with Oak to be his starter. Riley, the Aura Guardian and one of the only outsiders left with ties to the Lucario Kingdom. Riley, the man that was training Ash to be an Aura Guardian and insisted every good Aura Guardian needed a Pokemon from the Lucario line. To have one was pretty much a right of passage. It didn't take a genius to figure out what starter Ash would be receiving today, and Ash couldn't be happier.

Ash slipped out of bed and started his morning routine. He took his time, it would be a long while before he would be in the privacy and comfort of his own room again most likely. Besides, training with Riley had instilled some good habits into him including getting up early. He still had three hours before he had to be at the lab at 9:00 AM.

Once dressed Ash crept down stairs. Lance was most likely still asleep, he always took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in whenever he stayed over.

Ash's mom was already awake of course, she probably didn't sleep at all if the bags under her eyes were any indicator.

"Morning Honey," Deila greeted as she swept up to pull him into a big hug.

"Morning Mom. Can you let go please? I'm not leaving yet!" Ash said trying to cheer his mother up.

"I know, I know," Deila mumbled. "This is just the last time I get to hold you for awhile. It's not like I got a Dragonite to swoop in on to check on you whenever I feel like" Deila finished, sounding slightly better at the end.

"Mooom. You know Lance will let you borrow one of his Dragonites any time. Plus there's always Professor Oak's Dragonite; or Charizard, or Pidgeot, or Alakazam. Heck, his Arcanine could probably get you to me in less than an hour."

"Your right," Deila answered, letting out a small laugh. "I'm just being silly. Now sit down and I'll get breakfast started."

Not long after that Gary showed up searching for food. His grandfather was apparently still trying to find another starter. The Eevee he was gonna give got into a fight with his elder brother during the night and had to be transferred to the Viridian City Pokemon Center for extra treatment this morning. None of the other Eevee were trained enough like the two sent to the Center this morning leaving Oak scrambling for a substitute.

The boys talked a long time about if they were gonna travel together or not but decided against it in the end. They needed to know what they could do on their own and to push themselves. There was also the risk of them turning into what people called twin trainers. They saw the same Pokemon and had the same experiences from the very beginning, leaving very little room for personal growth. They also wanted to bond and work with their own Pokemon, and for their Pokemon to become teams, something that could be very difficult with the Pokemon of a different trainer around. It could cause issues within the team if the two trainers ever separated for some reason.

While their guardians weren't exactly happy that they would be going alone they understood their reasoning. Lance had actually decided to go alone at first instead of with his cousin Clair like his parents wanted for the very same reasons. They're both better trainers today because of it.

Close to when the boys were supposed to set out for the lab Lance finally stumbled down stairs, still trying to shack sleep off.

"Up finally?" Gary asked with a smug grin on his face.

"Shush. You don't have to deal with Erica. I'm pretty fond of my gym leaders but she's not one of them." Lance didn't even bother with pleasantries, it was clear he was gonna rant about something that was a long time coming. Probably why he got in so late last night.

"What's wrong with her?" Ash asked, swirling his cup of hot cocoa around trying to get the dregs of chocolate on the bottom to become apart of his drink again.

"She cares more about her perfume business then her responsibility as a gym leader. If you hear about any actual major crime that big enough to get the League's attention it always in Celadon City because Erica didn't nip it in the butt before it was a problem like she's supposed to. And her battle skills have been lacking. She used to be an amazing trainer but I don't think she cares any more. You'll get more of a challenge from one of the minor gyms than her. And to top it all off it's also just come to my attention that's she's been using Leauge money to keep her business afloat. Honestly at this point she's just there as a formality until a suitable replacement can be found. Ace trainers are in charge of the security of the city now and I've stipped her of all her power. THAT caused what can only be called a temper tantrum. I had to threaten to sue her for all the money she embezzled to get her to take any challengers this year in the meantime, which is her only job left. And for some reason we're still paying her. She's stolen more than enough to cover her salary this year."

"You are still gonna sue her after she's gone though right?" Gary asked, leaning forward.

"Of course," Lance answered with a vicious smirk.

"Wasn't the Cerulean Gym on the same nose dive a few years ago?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. The three older sisters in charge preferred to dress up and put on water shows than take challengers and protect the city. Luckily when we sent Lorelei to intervene their much younger sister stepped up. She's only a few years older than you two and boy can she battle! Under Lorelei she grew in leaps and bounds. If there was anyone else to run the gym she would be an Elite Four trainee right now along with Will and Karen. She's gonna be a tough battle for you guys."

Ash let out a whistle. "I look forward to it."

"Good, now I think you two need to get going. You don't want to be late," Lance said teasing the boy, looking much better now that he got what he needed to off his plate. He made a mental note to have the Ace trainers keep an eye on Erica when Ash and Gary eventually make it to Celadon. He wouldn't put it past her right now to take her anger out on the boys gym battle. While she wasn't up to her usual standards she could still annihilate two rookies.

"Wait!" Deila called hurrying down the stairs, passing each a backpack. "I went ahead and packed your bags for you. I made sure everything's in order and I packed enough food for the next three days."

"Thanks Auntie Deila but I haven't got a chance to say goodbye to Gramps yet so I'll be back with him for lunch before I leave." Then Gary's touched look turned into a smug one. "And I don't think Ash is leaving today." And with that Gary marched out the door.

Ash sent a confused look at his parents, who both looked just as confused and shrugged.

"I... guess I'll be back later." Ash swiftly gave each of his parents a hug before he was also out the door, trying not to think too hard on Gary's words.

What did he mean he wasn't leaving today?

"Yo Ash!"

Ash stopped and turned around to wait for his classmate Jerome to catch up.

Jerome was tall for their age with a lanky build to match. He had an olive skin complexion and black cropped hair that spiked up in the front.

He dressed casual in black shiny basketball shorts with green stripes down the side and a matching black athletic shirt with green accented shoulders. If you asked Ash the black basketball shoes with the green laces was overdoing it.

Jerome Horton was the class clown in Ash's grade, and Ash had previously thought he was much more into sports than Pokemon. Ash felt guilty for thinking Jerome would be one of the last people to pass the trainers exam. The boy was had an average intelligence but was overly curious about everything, but he almost never took anything seriously. It was possible he only wanted to go on a Pokemon journey to see the world.

"We're finally here yeah," Jerome said once he caught up. "Sorta thought this day would never come but here it is!

"Yeah," Ash agreed, the situation finally hitting him. He was a few minutes away from getting his very own Pokémon! "It seems surreal."

"I know right! I honestly didn't think I was gonna make it. I stayed up all night long before the exam cramming. I honestly can't remember half the stuff on the test now! Pokemon Centers are free right? Cuz I can't afford that!"

"Only to registered trainers," Ash answered wearily, his old doubts creeping back. "But once we're registered today we're registered for life unless we become convicted criminals."

"Aww man! I'm just kidding with you!" Jerome said laughing, his sky blue eyes shining. "Of course, I know that. But seriously, Pokemon centers are the ones with the green colored roof right?"

Ash shoved him off the road. Jerome kept laughing.

"There you guys are! Finally! Gary's already inside!"

"Well you know," Ash answered back sarcastically, "Gary sorta lives here. We're ten minutes early."

"Whatever," Viola Stuart said snidely before she marcher back up to the gates, glaring at them as if that would make them open faster.

Viola was a small girl on the runty side with light skin. But don't let her size fool you, she could pack a mean punch. Her wavy deep purple colored hair fell to her shoulders often fell on her face and didn't help her look any less runty. She wore jean shorts, a dark red t-shirt, a black windbreaker and black tennis shoes. In Ash's opinion her dark blue eyes never held anything but malic. Something that most people agreed with him on. His mom said that she was the only child of wealthy parents and a bit spoiled but could come around if he gave her a chance. Ash didn't agree. He was technically an only child of technically very wealthy parents and while he wasn't perfect he definitely didn't turn out like that. Plus she was the one who almost got him killed by that Fearow years ago because she thought seeing him walk around with scars on his face would be funny. Deila hadn't been able to argue with that.

"Don't mind her," Viola's companion said. "She just anxious to get her Pokemon."

Estella Rollins, or Ella as she liked to be called, was the exact opposite of Viola. She was tall and willowy, her long curly orange bronze hair was worn in its usual low ponytail. Together with her soft Moss green eyes and fair skin she looked like a fairy. She wore light bleached skinny jeans, a light blue flowy tank top and grey sneakers. Ella was usually very shy and meek, qualities that caused Viola to steamroll over her and pretty much force her to be Viola's only friend. But she is also very smart, tied with Gary for top of the class. And while she was very friendly with people she knew and could tolerate people like Viola Ella is bit suspicious and paranoid of the unknown.

Ash raised his eyebrow at her. They both knew Viola was jerk, Ella was just to timid to stand up to her. Plus someone needed to be around Viola to get help when things went wrong. If Ella hadn't went to go get Professor Oak, Ash and Gary would be dead. The Protect Ash had managed to bring up hadn't knocked the Fearow out and there was no way he could do it again.

Ella sent him a helpless shrug before turning back to the opening gate.

"Gramps is ready for us now," Gary said while securing the gate open.

Viola rushed passed, pushing Gary so hard he knocked his head on the gate post.

Ash rushed to his side to steady him while Gary tried to get his baring back. There was already a bump forming on his head that was obviously gonna bruise.

"I'm gonna kill her," Gary snarled, glaring after her.

"Not today," was Ash's firm answered. The boys exchanged looks, there was no way they were gonna let her ruin today.

"She's lucky we took our trainer photos yesterday," Gary mumbled.

That got a laugh out of Jerome. "Yeah, that would have suuucked man."

"Tell me about it," Ash mumbled as the group made their way up to the lab. He would have been the one stuck listening to Gary rant if he looked anything less than perfect in the ID picture he would have to carry around for the next year.

Professor Oak was waiting for them by the door with a glaring Viola. The professor frowned deeply when he saw the bump on Gary's head but his grandson just shook his head, signaling his grandfather to continue.

"Because I don't want any of you rushing off as soon as you get your Pokémon I'll be giving you your Pokedex and Pokeballs first this year," Oak said while sending a look Viola's way. The girl's glare just somehow got more heated.

"As you've all passed your trainer exam you already know what your Pokedex does and how to operate it. One at a time I'll give you your Pokedex so you can activate the voice recognition software. Please stay quiet while your classmates activate their Pokedex. The Pokedex are already programmed with each trainer's account so any interference will cause the two people affected to wait until tomorrow to start and get their Pokemon after the Pokedex is reset," Professor Oak said, clearly aiming this last bit at Viola. Ash was sure for a split second that she was actually gonna punch him.

Oak handed them each their Pokedex, going down the line starting with Gary and clearly skipping Viola who was in the middle and saving her for last. When she tried to protest the professor sent a pointed look at his grandson's head. That shut her up.

Ash's Pokedex was a glossy red that just screamed perfection. He activated it quickly, already eager to dive into all the files on the Pokemon the device contained.

"Now as you can see there are five of you and only three starters. Luckily Ash's master left him a Pokemon to start with so only one of you will have to choose an alternative starter."

Here the Professor looked to Jerome and Ella. He already knew Viola would never agree and Gary had already bonded with one of the starters. It would be cruel to separate them now.

"I will," Ella said stepping forward. She didn't look all that upset, in fact the expression on her face could be called curiose

"Thank you Ella," Professor Oak said with a smile. "I have to ask you to go last though, I'm still not sure what Pokemon I'll be giving you. I'll throw in some extra potions and Pokeballs in your starter kit as an apology."

Ella nodded happily before stepping back in line.

"Now Ash, since you only have one obvious choice you'll be going first."

This was it. This would be the Pokemon that would be his first, his best friend in life, the leader and constant on his team. This Pokemon would be constantly at his side for the rest of his life.

Oak handed Ash a plain enlarged Pokeball and with shaking hands Ash took it and pressed the white button in the center of the ball.

A flash of sharp blinding red light appeared as quickly as it disappeared, leaving a small knee height black and blue bipedal Pokemon with warm red eyes in its place.

" _Ri_?" It said cutely, tilting its head to the left while looking up at Ash. It clearly sensed the boys Aura and was compelled to him.

"Riolu," Ash whispered in astonishment. It's what he expected but as they say, seeing is believing.

" _Ri,_ " it answered nodding, taking a few steps toward Ash.

"Riolu," Ash said kneeling down, getting face to face with the rare creature. "I'm on a journey to the best Pokemon Master there ever was and a heroic Aura Guardian. But I need a partner to help get me there, and a best friend. Do you wanna be that?"

Riolu extended it paw to Ash and the boy knew immediately what it wanted. Ash placed his hand in Riolus and opened his Aura to the Pokemon the same time Riolu opened its Aura to Ash.

That exact moment Ash knew they were a match made to be. Their Aura flowed and bended the same way. Ash could feel all his main character traits like his innocence, need to help people, the want to be the best, and fierce determination flow through him to Riolu. And the same traits from Riolu come back at him. Riley had chosen the perfect partner to match Ash with.

Riolu broke the connection by leaping for joy into Ash's arms, jabbering excitedly the whole time.

"Well if you're done being freaky can I have my Pokemon now." Of course Viola had to ruin the moment.

"You get to go last because of that comment Ms. Stuart. We NEVER call someone with a gift a freak or freaky."

Ash could tell Viola wanted to argue but could tell how close Oak was from denying her a Pokemon at all and revoking her trainer's license.

"Next we'll move on to the traditional three starters. Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur. I don't want to show favoritism but since Gary has already bonded with one of the starters I'll let him go first."

Gary rushed forward clearly looking relieved and snagged Squirtle's Pokeball. Gary quickly released the turtle Pokemon. Upon seeing Gary holding his Pokeball Squirtle mouth stretched into a huge smile and shot his new trainer a thumbs up.

Jerome was next up. "I think I want a fast Pokemon to keep up me so I'm gonna pick Charmander!"

"NO! Charmander is mine!" Viola looked incensed, balling her fists and started to make her way towards Jerome.

"No Ms. Stuart," Professor Oak quickly intervened. "Charmander belongs to Mr. Horton. I advise you if you want a Pokemon at all to stay quiet. Go ahead Jerome, meet your new Pokemon."

Jerome did as asked and released Charmander while keeping half an eye on Viola.

When the lizard appeared it yawned hugely and scratched the back of his head with its leg.

"Hiya Charmander," Jerome said getting the Pokémon's attention. "I'm not sure what I want to do with my life yet but I know I want you as my best friend! What do you say?"

" _Charrrr_ ," the Charmander said, rubbing his head affectionately against Jerome as an answered.

"I'm gonna kill you," Viola hissed murderously while she grabbed the Bulbasaur's Pokeball and stormed out.

"I would let her get a head start if I were you," Gary mumbled still staring after the purple haired girl. "That way you wouldn't risk bumping into her."

"Are you kidding!" Jerome exclaimed, clearly frightened. "That gives her the opportunity to set an ambush for me and take Charmander!"

Everyone stayed quiet, even the Professor, they all agreed it was not out of the ballpark for Viola.

"I'll go with you and watch your back to Viridian City. But I'm not leaving until early afternoon, that okay with you?" Gary offered.

"Yeah man," Jerome sighed, completely relieved. "That would be great, thanks."

"Moving on" Oak said, clearly disturbed by what had just happened. "You both are free to go. Ash, I'm going to have to ask you to stay a bit longer."

Ash nodded, thoughts coming back about what Gary said about him not leaving today. There should be nothing to worry about, everything was in order. So why was he worried?

" _Lu_?" Came the soft cry from his arms, snapping Ash out of his thoughts. Who was he kidding. He had Riolu. Today was already perfect even if he didn't get to leave.

"Sorry buddy. Just lost in my thoughts, it's nothing to worry about."

" _Ri, ri, lu,_ " the Pokemon said seriously pointing at Ash's head.

"You're right," Ash said with a smile. "I need to get out of my head. What do you say we go find Ella and Professor Oak?"

Riolu nodded before jumping down and starting heading towards the next room. Ash nodded and followed.

"...probably abused sometime in its life. If it too much you can wait until Eevee gets back. It should be back tomorrow most likely."

Ash caught the last bit of Professor Oak's explanation as he and Riolu made there into the room.

"No it's okay Professor. I like him, I think he just needs some love and understanding. We'll be best friends eventually."

Ella squatted down to get to eye level with the Pokemon on the table. "What do you say Pikachu? Will you give it a shot? I wouldn't make you stay in your Pokeball and after a month if you still don't like me you can go. Plus I promise lots of ketchup, the Professor says you love it."

The yellow mouse Pokemon on the table seemed to consider her offer, if only for the ketchup. Finally asking for a second opinion Pikachu turned to Riolu. You could always trust a Pokemon of the Lucario line to judge character correctly.

Riolu crossed its arms and nodded, giving an affirmative " _Ri_!"

Pikachu shot a weary look at Ella before finally nodding.

"Great!" Ella yelped and jumped for job. "We'll be great friends, you'll see!"

Pikachu gave a grunt before hopping off the table and heading downstairs. A happy Ella yelled her thanks behind her as she took off after him.

Ash was happy for her. If anyone could get through to an abused Pokemon out of the group besides him it was Ella. He didn't know if he would have the patience to take one on as a starter as she had though. He would have to wait to gain its trust before catching another Pokemon.

"Ahh Ash. I have something to ask of you and Riolu," Oak said, getting the duo's attention. "Gary already said no, he wants to start right away and finish this year with a whole Kanto team."

"...Gary didn't explain anything to you did he?" The Professor asked with a sigh after getting a look at Ash's confused face. Ash shook his head.

"I have a cousin in the very distant Alola region that is the principle to what I believe to be the best Pokemon school in the world. In the Alola region some Pokemon that you are familiar with take on different forms and different types. No one knows why. Pokemon native to Kanto can be found in all the other regions but their form and type doesn't change. It's something my cousin and I are studying together. Geodude is one of those Pokemon that has a different type and form in the Alola region and I happen to have a fresh Geodude egg. We're curious to see what will happen if the Geodude egg spends most of its time as an egg in Alola, if there will be any changes. But I need you to take the egg to Alola. I will pay for your way there and back plus any expenses you have in Alola. You'll stay for a week with Alola's regional Professor, Professor Kuiki. You'll have the chance to explore Alola, visit the Pokemon school and catch rare Pokemon that can't be found here that will give you the element of surprise in the conference. What do you say?"

The only down side Ash could see was missing a week on the Kanto circuit, but that really wasn't a big deal. He had almost a year to get all his badges. Also his first gym was a rock type gym. There was no way Riolu knew any moves that would help him at the gym now, they needed time to train. And there was no Pokemon he could catch between here and Pewter City that would help his chances either, maybe there would be something in Alola?

Ash looked down at Riolu, making sure they were on the same page. He got a nod and a happy yip in response.

"We'll go," Ash said. "When do we leave?"

Oak sent Ash a grateful smile. "In two days on Wednesday. Alakazam will teleport you to the airport in Saffron. You should be here by 7:00 AM."

"Why don't you head on home and get to know Riolu a bit? I have a few things to finish here and then I'll be along for lunch."

"Alright Professor" Ash said before turning to Riolu with a grin. "Let's get going."

* * *

"Get rid of it!"

"No! Pikachu put his trust in me and I'm not betraying it!"

Just when Ash thought he had a blissful full year Viola free. But nope.

Judging by Viola's scratched up appearance and poffy hair it was pretty easy to figure out Pikachu shocked not. Not hard enough to hurt apparently as Viola was still in Ella's face and poor Pikachu was cowering behind her.

"I'll really need to scan you with the Pokedex," Ash mumbled to Riolu. It would be quite nice to know Riolu's move set right about now.

"I'm not going anywhere with it so it has to go! You make it go or I will!"

"No! Then I guess we just wouldn't be traveling together!" Ella seemed to realize what she said too late as her face fell.

"...What did you say."

Glancing back at a terrified Pikachu Ella seemed to get her nerve back. "I. Am. Not. Traveling. With. You. I'm not your friend. I never was! Ella balled her fists and took a few steps towards Viola, getting in the other girl's face. Your forced me to pretend to be and you know it too! I'm not cleaning up after you anymore. I'm not defending you anymore. You're one your own!" Ella finished looking like a freed woman.

"You know some attacks right?" Ash mumbled down to Riolu.

The Jackal Pokemon nodded its head.

"Be prepared to use them."

After a few seconds of the girl's processing what just happened Ella got her wits back first and turned to leave. That's when Mt. Viola erupted.

"NO YOU DON'T! GET HER BULBASAUR!"

To Ash's growing horror Viola didn't point her finger at Pikachu, but at Ella.

Bulbasaur appeared from his Pokeball utterly confused. 'Did his new trainer just commanded him to attack a human? There must be a reason why. They must be criminals!'

Riolu's muscles bunched together as it got ready to move but didn't have to. As soon as Bulbasaur's vines started to appear Pikachu fried it.

At the end of the lightshow Pikachu looked tired but also very proud of himself. Bulbasaur on the other hand was smoking and unconscious. Pikachu might have overdone it.

Viola let out a frustrated scream before returning her poor Bulbasaur and running off toward Route One.

Ash briefly considered going after her before remembering this was exactly the kind thing Lance had drilled into him to get help for.

"I really hope the professor's security camera got that speech of yours on tape because it was awesome," Ash said as he walked up to Ella.

"I didn't mean it," Ella sputtered. "I mean I meant it just not like that. It all just came out. I shouldn't have made her so mad."

"No trust me. That was a long time coming. If anything I'm glad you waited so long just because you had Pikachu to keep you safe. That would have ended very differently had you confronted her a week ago."

"Yeah," Ella agreed shuddering, "I think you're right."

"Is Pikachu okay?"

"I think so. Just tired. You're alright buddy?"

" _Pika pi_!" Pikachu assured, standing up to his full height and puffing his chest out. Riolu pat him on the back.

"I think we better head back to my place. Lance is gonna wanna hear this," Ash said as Riolu climbed up onto the boy's shoulder. Something just felt right about the Pokemon's weight there.

Ella looked back to make sure Pikachu would follow them before springing into step besides Ash.

"How much trouble do you think Viola's gonna be in?" Ella asked skittishly. "She's gonna be so mad."

"As much as she deserves I guess," Ash said as he scratched Riolu behind one of its ears, the Pokemon happily leaning into his touch. "And you don't have to worry about her. She's gonna most likely end up staying here another year and her Pokemon taken away. She told her Pokemon to attack another human in an act that wasn't self-defense. That's major. By the time she leaves on her journey, if she does at all, you're gonna be a lot stronger than her."

"But what am I gonna do now though? I always thought I would just follow Viola around but now I need to make my own plans," Ella said, her face twisted with worry.

"I'll tell you what. I have to run an errand for Professor Oak in Alola but as soon as I get back we can set out together. Only for the first gym or two though, I wanna make my own path. That should give you enough time to figure things out. Besides, that gives you more time to form a relationship with Pikachu while I'm gone. He might have saved your life but I don't think he'll be jumping into any normal battles for you any time soon."

Both trainers looked down at the mouse Pokemon to find it following them weary, never taking its eyes off the human.

"That'll work," Ella said. "Hey, do you think you could find me a water type in Alola? If you do I'll do all the camp chores for the first week." Ella sent Ash a pleading look, turning her puppy dog eyes on to full power.

"Alright," Ash relented feeling pretty amused. "If I find one that's willing then sure."

"Thank you!" Ella squealed as she hugged Ash, knocking Riolu off him. The Pokemon crossed it arms as it gave the two trainers a pouty look.

Ash laughed as he pulled his Pokedex out and pointed it at Riolu. "I think it's way overdue that I scan you."

" _Riolu, the emanation Pokemon."_ the Pokedex buzzed. _"It can discern the physical and emotional states of people, Pokemon and other natural things from the shape of their Aura waves. This Riolu is female and has the ability Inner Focus. This Riolu knows the moves Quick Attack, Foresight, and Counter. It's egg move Blaze Kick hasn't been unlocked_.

"Nice egg move!" Ash commented. That would come in handy. And a small but balanced move pool too. He could most definitely work with this.

" _Pikachu, the mouse Pokemon."_ Ash glanced over at Ella to see she had also pulled her own Pokedex out. _"It keeps its tail raised to monitor its surrounding. If you yank its tail, it will try to bite you. This Pikachu is male and has the ability Lightning Rod. This Pikachu knows the moves Thundershock, Tail Whip, Thunder Wave and Quick Attach. It's egg move is Electric Terrain."_

"Four moves instead of three. That's pretty rare for a starter," Ella complemented Pikachu.

Pikachu ears twitched and it gave a disinterested " _Pika_ ".

"You'll get through to him," Ash promised a disheartened Ella as they approached the Ketchum house. "You'll see."

Lance was out front when they got there. It seemed he was trying to give his baby Bagon a bath. Bagon hated bath time as much as any human toddler and always got water everywhere so Lance had started taking him outside and using the hose. It still took forever and made a mess but at least this way the garden got watered.

As soon as Bagon spotted Ash it scampered off to hide behind the boy, hugging his leg.

"Really," Lance groaned looking incredibly disgruntled.

"Viola had her Bulbasaur attack Ella," Ash said getting right to the point.

Lance's head snapped up and his attitude changed instantly. "Tell me everything."

* * *

Hours after Ash and Ella told Lance what happened the boy sat on his bed looking through information about Riolu on the Pokedex.

Lance had taken off after Viola almost immediately. As much trouble as the girl was in she was out in the wilds alone with no food, shelter, medicine and a Pokemon that was too injured to battle.

Not soon after a breaking news story came on TV that warned that a merchant that had arrived in Viridian City reported that he saw what he thought was Team Rocket. Route One was now on lockdown.

Gary and Jerome were disappointed that they weren't leaving today but got over it quickly. A classmate was missing and Team Rocket was spotted close to home. Everyone in a normally friendly and open Pallet Town was locking their doors and shutting windows. The Pokemon were all weary and Professor Oak was doing hourly patrols.

Ash and Delia had heard a report during dinner that everyone known to be on Route One was accounted for expect Viola. They also heard that the presence of Team Rocket had been confirmed. So far the only ones caught were lowly grunts and the League was doing a deep search of Route One to make sure they got them all before it was opened again tomorrow morning. Sadly a lot of grunts got away by teleporting.

The grunts had been on Route One to attack the new trainers coming for Pallet and steal their starters. Team Rocket wanted the traditional Kanto three for some kind of experiment the grunts weren't privy to information about.

At this point Viola had either been kidnapped or volunteeringly joined up. No one could say it wasn't a possibility after information came out about why the League had been looking for Viola in the first place.

Ash let out a deep breath. Shit had hit the fan so quickly that he was still reeling. But Ash had still become an official Pokemon Trainer today, gotten Riolu and would be leaving for Alola in a few days. Ella could finally be here own person and start figuring out who that person was. It wasn't all bad.

" _Ri_?" Riolu nudged Ash from where she sat in his lap.

"Sorry. Today has just been a really crazy day hasn't it."

" _Rio,_ " Riolu agreed nodding.

"Let's see," Ash mused. "Where do you think you are with defence?" Riolu gave him a thumbs down.

"Speed?" Thumbs up.

"Endurance?" Riolu considered that one before shaking her hand from side to side.

"Not the best but not entirely bad either?" Riolu nodded.

"Alright, you're gonna start on laps tomorrow morning. Jogging, not running. You want to go as long as you can without walking. Then some crunches and pushups to build muscle that will increase your defence."

Riolu nodded along showing her understanding.

"Now to the fun part," Ash said with a smirk aimed towards Riolu. "Moves."

"You've got Foresight, Counter, and Quick Attack. It's impossible for you to practice Foresight or Counter until I get another Pokemon. So that just leaves Quick Attack, we'll test that tomorrow.

"I can see battles we might get into in the near future that make Foresight and Counter useless. Gary's Squirtle for one. It's not speedy or a ghost type so Foresight is useless. And it's to much of a heavy hitter to risk you getting hit even with Counter. Your speed is your biggest weapon right now so if you get hit and slow down your done."

"I'm thinking you can start learning Force Palm or Endure. Endure will help with your defence but you badly need another offensive move. What do you think?"

Riolu dipped her head to the side and considered a moment before pointing at Force Palm on the Pokedex.

"That's what I was thinking," Ash agreed. "We'll get started on that after I've made sure you mastered Quick Attack."

"Being a Riolu do you already know if you have fully unlocked normal type energy?"

Riolu gave a yip and nodded.

"Have you?" Again Riolu nodded.

"Well that makes things easier. Those are the only two types you'll need until you evolve unless I get you a TM or you unlock your egg move."

Riolu yawned and snuggled closer to Ash, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Bed time huh?" Ash asked amused, gazing fondly down emanation Pokemon. She had quickly grown on him. She was incredibly quirky but had already shown she could be serious when she needed to be.

The Fighting Type only snuggled closer in answer.

Ash closed down the Pokedex before laying it on his bed side table. The boy maneuver himself under the covers while still keeping a hold on Riolu.

"Goodnight Riolu," Ash said as he switched his lamp off.

" _Lu_ ," Riolu slurred back, already drifting off into dreamland in Ash's arms like a small child.

Ash had a hard time falling asleep. So much had happened and he couldn't get his brain to quiet down. After a while of pondering his inner dilemma Ash expected there was nothing he could do. He might as well be at peace with it. With those thoughts the boy fell asleep.

* * *

"You can keep going a little longer! I believe in you!"

Ash shouted encouragements to Riolu as she jogged laps around the house. She was nearing her end but Ash wanted to see just how far she could push herself.

The first thing they had done was test Riolu's Quick Attack. Ash was very impressed by it. Riolu was quick on her feet and always hit her target. Accuracy definitely wasn't an issue.

Ash looked up when a huge shadow covered the area he was standing in. Lance swooped in on Dragonite, landing under the tree in the yard. Both looked utterly spent and exhausted, basking in the shade the tree offered.

Ash called Riolu to him before making his way towards the Champion.

"Well you look terrible," Ash teased as he stole his water bottle back that Lance had just picked up and gave it to a heaving Riolu.

Lance threw him a dirty look. "It's been a long night."

"Mom left lunch for you on the table," Ash informed the Champion, taking pity on him. The boy settled down under the tree with his pseudo father and Riolu climbed into Ash's lap, graciously offering Lance the water bottle when she was done with it.

"I'll go get it in a second," the man said while taking the offered water bottle. He took a long drink before passing the bottle to Dragonite who finished the bottle quickly.

"Nothing happened here?" Lance asked wanting to make sure he hadn't missed something.

"No, Gary and Jerome left early this morning though after Route One was cleared though."

Ash felt a little bitter about that. He always thought Gary would be the first person he battled. But with all the excitement yesterday it just didn't happen. And Ash couldn't fault Gary for wanting to leave early, he must have gone stir crazy having to wait an extra day.

"Uggghhhh!" Lance groaned. "Now I have to track them down!"

"Why?" Ash asked as he raked though Riolu's fur with his fingers.

"Added security measures," Lance said wearily, looking at Ash like he was a time bomb. "Whether Viola went willingly or not there's a lot she can tell Team Rocket. Like that Gary and Jerome have the two other starters. She can tell them yours and Gary's connection to me and the League. And about your aura. All that effort we put in to keep quiet all these years, now for nothing."

Ash hadn't even thought about that. In the beginning he had wanted to keep his aura a secret but with someone like Riley continuously showing up it became impossible. The kind people of Pallet had agreed to keep quiet about his abilities thankfully. Ash had heard about the horrible experiments done on Psychics by Team Rocket back in their glory days. They had never gotten their hands on an aura Guardian though, they were much too rare. Ash was now the only known aura trainee or Guardian in all of Indigo. Combine with him being the son of the former Champion and someone Lance thought of as family there was no way Team Rocket wouldn't make an attempt at kidnapping him or worse.

"There's already the Smart Distress Signal on our Pokenavs…." Ash said hoping that would be enough. Dangers or not the boy was desperate to go on a journey, this was what he had waited for his whole life.

"You still get to go," Lance assured. "Just not alone."

As much as that annoyed Ash he could live with the compromise. The alternative was not going at all or starting in another region. The last option would break his mother's heart after what happened with Daisy and the boy had no intention of doing that.

"So probably an Ace Trainer?" Ash asked as he resigned himself to his fate.

"For Jerome and Ella yes. I'm being a little more careful with my boys," Lance said as smirk started to appear on his face. "Professor Oak told me you're running an errand for him in Alola."

"Yeah," Ash agreed hesitantly, not sure where this was going.

"Congrats on that by the way, that's going to be a huge step up for you and a great experience. But anyway, once you arrive back in Saffron, I'll have Will meet you at the airport."

"Will? Like Elite Four trainee Will?" Ash asked not sure if he heard correctly.

"Yep. He'll be traveling with you from then on."

"But doesn't he have duties and Elite Four trainee stuff to do?"

"Yes. Which is why he will be leaving you every time you arrive in a city with a major gym. You'll be the gym leaders responsibly then. The same will be true for Karen who I've assigned to Gary. Another reason I assigned Will to you is not only does he have his duties but he's still training with Sabrina. He can get more time to do that with you by switching out with Riley."

"And I'm sure you remember Steven retired right?" Lance asked, his smirk getting bigger.

Ash nodded, how can he forget. The Hoenn Elite Four weren't the most tight knit group like their Indigo counterparts. In fact they tended to butt heads quite a bit. At the beginning of the last Ever Grande Conference Sidney and Glacia had gotten into another very public argument. Steven had ended it by angrily announcing in public that he was sick of politics, sick of having to always keep a leash on the Elite Four and was done. True to his word Steven passed the mantle onto Wallace at the end of the Elite Four challenge.

The actual Champion from that years Ever Grande Conference hadn't made it passed Sidney. Wallace was an Ever Grande Champion from a few years previous that had almost beat Drake and had been taken on as an Elite Four trainee. Wallace was supposed to take Drake place when he retired but ended up taking Stevens.

"Yeah well Steven says he wants to travel and see more of world other than Hoenn. He's been to a lot of different places over the years but never really had the chance to explore. He was always there on business. He said he was headed to Kalos but I'm sure once I tell him what's going on he'll come here instead to help keep an eye on you boys. He's wanted to meet you guys for a long time anyway. I'm going to ask him to switch between you and Gary every other week. That will also help take pressure off Will and Karen."

"Isn't this special treatment?" Ash asked. That's the last thing he wanted. It wouldn't mean much when he reached the top if he was put there by the people that came before him.

"Steven and Riley can do whatever they want," Lance answered. "Neither of them technically works for any League anymore. Will, Karen, and the Gym Leaders and protecting two rookie trainers that are being targeted by a nefarious criminal organization. Plus you're also being targeted for your aura. Indigo has made a strong stance that we are a safe place and protect people with gifts. Not to mention you have a rare gift that's going extinct. There hasn't been a known Aura Adapt or Guardian in Indigo in over 50 years. There's less than ten known Aura Guardians in the world. We aren't about to let Team Rocket target anyone with a gift but I would be lying if I said you didn't have priority."

"Besides," Lance said with a warm smile. "You might not have been introduced yet but you are Gary are part of the Indigo family. And family protects itself. If Koga's daughter or one of Brock's siblings were being targeted everyone would be up in arms like they are now. The public knows this and doesn't expect anything less."

"I see your point," Ash conceded with a thoughtful look. He was starting to understand just how sheltered he was during his childhood.

Ash's thoughts were broken by Riolu's rumbling stomach. The Pokemon wore a sheepish look and rubbed the back of her head.

"Me too," Lance laughed as he stood up. Before Ash could react, the Champion took Riolu from his lap and swung her up to his shoulder. "To food!" Lance called dramatically before marching towards the house. Ash could faintly pick up Riolu crying agreement.

"Do we really let that man run the country?" Ash asked the Dragon next to him.

Dragonite shrugged. Nothing had caught fire yet in his opinion.

"I should go back sure he finds Riolu's new food," Ash said as he stood.

Dragonite let out a puff in agreement before he settled his large head on his hands. Peace and quiet at last.

* * *

"Force Palm is an explosion of fighting type energy from your palm that could paralyzed your opponent. The pokedex says to channel energy, fighting type energy I'm assuming, into your palm until it explodes. Start by channeling energy into your palm and work from there."

Ash was once again out on the front lawn with Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon stood in front of him listening to his directions intently.

" _Lu_ ," Riolu nodded her understanding before closing her eyes.

Ash sat under the tree and watched Riolu for a few minutes. When she didn't ask for further direction Ash turned to his own training. He was trying to master Safeguard. Safeguard would stop any status conditions from affecting him for as long as he could maintain it. Now that Team Rocket was after him it was paramount that he mastered it. Team Rocket liked to use poison types and poison their enemy's, Pokemon and human alike.

Protect and Safeguard were almost the same thing. It was the condensed aura that stopped attacks. The difference was Protect only lasted as long as the attack did and was external. Safeguard was infused with the user's being, canceling out any status conditions as soon as they came into contact with the user. Ash had that part down. Now he needed to learn how to maintain Safeguard for as long as possible. That could only happen by maintaining Safeguard for as long as he could. And every day the amount of time Ash could maintain it slowly increased.

" _Ri_!" White light had begun to build around Riolu's paw. Riolu suddenly pointed her hand away from herself as the energy finally exploded outward in a white blast.

"You did it!" Ash cheered. Riolu looked a little out of breath but otherwise very proud of herself. "You figured that out quick! I should have known manipulating energy throughout your body would be easy for you as a Riolu. Now you just need to do that faster, a lot faster. You should be able to use the attack instantaneously. And it shouldn't tire you out nearly as much. You'll get it with practice."

Riolu barked happily, her eyes bright with determination.

"Now again."

Ash and Riolu spent most of the rest of the day training. Ash could maintain Safeguard a few more minutes at a time, bringing his total up to 46 minutes. Riolu only took 30 seconds to use Force Palm now. The less time it took Riolu to use the move though the harder it got to progress. Ash was still confident though that Riolu would have Force Palm mastered by the end of the week.

After a quiet dinner with Delia and Lance Ash went upstairs to repack his bag. He was leaving for Alola tomorrow morning. It seemed so surreal. By tomorrow night he would be thousands of miles away from home all by himself. That wasn't true, he would have Riolu.

Ash looked out the window to catch a glance at Riolu jogging past in the dusk. He had sent her out for one more jog before bed. Ash wanted her to start and end the day with a run while they weren't traveling, her endurance was Ash's biggest focus right now.

There was a knock at the door just as Ash was double checking he had everything he needed in his backpack. Devon bags truly were amazing, they were much bigger on the inside than the outside. To Ash's limited understanding he knew that there was some controlled hole in space in the bag. How that was possible or how the bag cut down on weight he didn't know. It felt like he was only carrying around the average school bag rather than all his travel gear. Of course the bags were extremely expensive. Most starting trainers could afford a small one but the one Ash would be carrying was one of the biggest inside on the market. Another gift from Steven. Ash couldn't wait to meet the former Champion so he could finally thank him for his amazing gifts.

"Come in!" Ash called as he zipped his bag shut.

Lance opened the door. Bagon immediately ran into the room and scampered onto Ash's bed, jumping up and down and making happy noises.

"Bagon and I were wondering if we could challenge you and Riolu to a battle before you leave tomorrow? It would be his first battle too." Lance looked slightly anxious. It was understandable for Ash to say no. Even though Riolu and Bagon were at the same level there was no way Ash would win. Lance was way to experienced and probably had more strategies than Ash could count in day.

Ash already knew his answer but rapped on the window to call Riolu inside anyway. In a battle they were sure to lose Riolu had to be okay with it too.

In a flash Riolu was suddenly on Ash's lap, panting hard. She had oblivious used Quick Attack to get there.

" _Lu_?" Riolu responded, haphazardly catching her breath.

"Lance and Bagon have challenged us to a battle. I don't think think we can win but I believe it will be great experience and we can get a lot of helpful feedback. Besides, who else can say their first battle was against a Champion!" Ash said playfully. "What do you say?"

Riolu looked over at Bagon who was currently jumping off Ash's bed in attempts to fly before face planting into the floor. Only to get back up and do it all over again.

Then Riolu turned to Lance, looking the man in the eye.

" _Ri! Ri!_ " Riolu jumped up and pointed at Lance, issuing her own challenge.

Lance's face broke into a huge smile. "Well then we'll see you two bright and early tomorrow morning. Sleep well. Come on Bagon!"

"You too!" Ash called after him.

"Now," Ash said turning to a sweaty Riolu. "You need a bath."

* * *

"I've been thinking," Ash said as he pulled the covers over him and Riolu.

" _Rio_?"

"Would you like a nickname?" Riolu sat up and stared at her paws considering for a few moments.

" _Ri_ ," Riolu finally answered, nodding her head yes.

"I've already thought of a few. They're all sorta warrior princess names I guess. I thought that would fit you, tell me what you think."

"Xena?" Riolu shook her head.

"Cora?" Another no.

"Astrid?" Riolu considered this one before once again shaking her head no.

Ash listed a few more before finally coming to one Riolu liked.

"Rayna?" This time Riolu nodded almost immediately and gave a happy bark.

"Rayna it is then."

The newly dubbed Rayna gave Ash a smile before settling back under the covers, snuggling against the boy's chest.

Ash didn't have any trouble falling asleep that night.

* * *

Ash stood at one end of the field at the lab that the professor had offered for his and Lance's battle. Rayna stood at his side looking completely relaxed, but her eyes gave her away. They were burning with a fiery determination.

Ash didn't expect to win, but he was going to try his damned best. Rayna's speed was critical in this battle. Bagon had a higher defense and attack. Force Palm was his only chance at doing any real damage. It still took Rayna about half a minute to get Force Palm ready though and when Force Palm exploded Rayna needed to be touching Bagon for it work. That meant she would have to use quick attack at the same time. They named the combo Blinding Rush, now it just came down to if Rayna could pull it off. She would have to charge Force Palm the same time she used quick attack, something they didn't have the chance to practice.

"You ready?" Lance called from across the field.

"Ready," Ash answered.

Lance had practically drug Ash out of bed that morning, eager for their battle. They arrived at the lab half hour early before Ash was supposed to leave to make sure they had enough time.

Professor Oak, Delia, Mr. Mime stood on the sidelines. Mr. Mime turned on his video recorder as Oak stepped up.

"This will be a one on one battle between Lance Blackthorn of Blackthorn City and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. The battle will be over when either Pokemon are unable to battle. Begin!"

"Let's do this Rayna!" Ash called as his starter stepped out onto the battlefield.

Lance nodded and an unusually calm Bagon stepped forward.

"Start with Ember!" Lance called.

"Dodge!" Rayna quickly darted out of the way, keeping her eyes on Bagon. Ash knew Lance didn't expect the attack to hit, he was only testing Rayna's speed.

"Use Leer followed by Ember!"

"Look away then Quick Attack!" Ash gritted his teeth. He couldn't chance Rayna being hit by leer. She wouldn't be able to survive more than one or two hits. Lucky or not so lucky though the Pokemon using leer had to make eye contact with its opponent for the move to work.

Rayna turned her head and dashed away from Bagon, dodging both Leer and Ember at the same time. Before Bagon could fire Ember again Rayna hit him with Quick Attack. The dragon flew back a few feet and landed on its side, giving a startled cry of pain.

"Keep it up!" Ash encouraged Rayna.

"Rage!" Lance commanded.

Rage was a move that caused the energy behind a pokemon's attacks to grow every time it got hit. Quick Attack was hitting continuously but not doing enough damage fast enough. Ash was making Bagon stronger faster than he was hurting it. Sooner or later one of Bagon's Ember move was going to find it mark it and Rayna would be knocked out. He needed to change tactics.

"Blinding Rush! Keep it down!" Ash called. Quick Attack wasn't going to work so this was his only chance. Lance narrowed his eyes at the strange move name but didn't change his orders.

Rayna continued to use Quick Attack on Bagon to keep it from regrouping but had noticeably slowed down while she charged Force Palm.

Lance quickly noticed Rayna's lack of speed and took advantage of it. "Bite!"

This time when Rayna rushed Bagon the fighting type was to slow to avoid Bagon biting down on her shoulder as she tried to make her get away. Rayna cried out and struggled to get away. Or pretend to struggle Ash thought as he caught sight of the white glow starting to form in Rayna's paw.

"Get away!" Lance called as he figured out what Ash was up too.

Bagon stopped shaking Rayna but didn't let her go, turning to look at his trainer in confusion. Bagon had Rayna where he wanted her, why would he let her go?

The second distraction was all Rayna needed.

The Emanation Pokemon slammed her paw between Bagon's eyes just as the energy building there finally exploded.

When the dust cleared both Pokemon look exhausted and weak. Rayna was standing but barely. Her entire form was trembling, her knees were bleeding from where she must have landed on them, and she was holding her shoulder. She was utterly spent.

Bagon was also on both feet but seemed a lot better off. The little dragon was scratched up and heaving but looked like it had a few good attacks left in it.

"Emb..."

"I concede," Ash said. It was clear who was going to win, going any further would just be causing Rayna needless pain.

Ash pointed Reyna's Pokeball towards her and returner the Pokemon for the first time since he got her. Being in frozen reality would give her a relief from the pain until he could get her to the restoration machine at the lab.

Lance too returned his Pokemon before making his way over to Ash.

"Nice job. I was expecting you to pull Force Palm out yet, much less expecting you too already have put together a combo."

"Yeah," Ash said rubbing his head sheepishly. "It still needs a lot of work but I couldn't think of anything else."

"Still, props for coming up with an original name for the combo. If you called it something like Quick Palm or Force Attack I would have known what you were up to right away."

Ash nodded, he had thought of the same thing. The more he could keep his opponent guessing the better for him.

"You nicknamed Riolu Rayna, right?" Lance asked as he steered Ash towards the lab.

"Yeah."

"It's becoming of her. Anyway, something you could have done was have Rayna not keep hitting Bagon with Quick Attack while she prepared Force Palm. She was still fast enough to dodge and confuse Bagon without having to attack him, and she was wasting a lot of energy needlessly. If she had done that I would have had a harder time predicting when and where she would make her move, with Rage still activated every time you hit Bagon his attacks got stronger. Rayna wouldn't have taken nearly as much damage from Bite and would most likely still have been able to fight. Especially since Rayna is resistant to dark type moves."

Ash thought that though. In hindsight what he did was pretty stupid. He should have had more faith in Rayna, she was more than capable at dodging.

"Still," Lance said to break Ash out of his brooding, sending the boy a knowing look.

"You took a risk with that combo of yours and had Rage not been in effect it would have paid off. And you used several strategies, not all of them worked but you still tried nonetheless. That's a lot more than what most trainers are capable of in their first battles. All and all I'm pretty proud of you." Lance smiled at Ash and patted him on the back.

"Thanks," Ash said feeling slightly bashful. While Ash knew Lance would always be proud of him it wasn't every day a rookie could impress the man when Pokemon were involved.

"Could you tell what Bagon's biggest problem was?" Lance asked.

"He didn't listen to you right away. If he had Force Palm wouldn't have hit. I'm not sure if it's a trust issue or if Bagon's just isn't use to battling," Ash answered thoughtfully.

"Both. Those two often go hand in hand with young Pokemon. They're still learning how to battle and trust their trainer's judgement. I could see Force Palm coming but Bagon couldn't. But from where Bagon was standing there was no good reason to stop, he thought he could end the battle then. So why in the world would he let go? An older Pokemon wouldn't have that hesitation, they know by then that their trainer see's something they don't."

"Reyna and I didn't have that problem though," Ash observed.

"It probably has to do with aura," Lance answered with a shrug. "I'm the wrong person to be asking about that. Talk to Riley next time you see him."

Ash nodded as he and Lance made their way into the lab where Delia and Professor Oak were waiting for them. They had gone ahead to get the restoration machine running when Ash conceded.

"That was an impressive first battle Ash. Not perfect, but still impressive," Oak complemented while giving the boy a proud smile.

"Thanks," Ash said feeling sheepish. He wasn't use to this much praise being heaped on him.

"I'll take your Pokemon to heal her," the professor said holding his hand out.

"I'll accompany you," Lance said. "I still haven't gone over the new Pallet patrols with you."

"Yes, yes, of course," Professor Oak answered as he took Reyna's Pokeball from Ash. "We can never be too careful. This way."

"They could have been a little less obvious," Ash said with fond smile as he watched the men exit the room.

"They mean well," his mother answered, a sad smile on her face as she watched her son. He had grown so much in the last few years. He was almost as tall as she was now. Gone was the blue and white open shirt from his youth. Now he wore black and red basketball shoes, tight gray cargo pants, black fingerless gloves, a black T-shirt and a zipped blue and white sport jacket. And he still wore his red official Indigo League hat.

"Yeah," Ash said feeling a little sad himself. This was goodbye for real this time. He would be back in a week but this was his first time setting out on his own. Ash knew this one would be the hardest.

"Do your best out there and try your hardest. You're not going to get anywhere without a lot of good old fashion hard work. Be kind and give everyone you meet a chance. Stay safe and don't do anything stupid. Don't hesitate to call for help if you think you need it. But most all have fun. This is an adventure, treat it like one."

"Thanks mom," Ash said as he swept his mother up in a hug. He promised himself that he would make her proud.

Ash and his mother separated when they heard the men come back into the room. Rayna was also with them, looking good as new. The fighting type ran to Ash and jumped on to his shoulder, giving her trainer a warm greetings bark.

"It's good to see you're okay," Ash said with a laugh.

" _Ri_!" Rayna exclaimed, flexing her muscles just for good measure.

"I'm sorry we lost so badly. I made some bad calls and we both paid for it. I can't promise that we'll always win, but I'll grow and get better with 're probably going to a lot in the beginning."

" _Rio_!" Rayna barked, shooting Ash a wolfly smile and raising her fist.

Ash laughed and bumped his own fist against Reyna's. He felt relieved that Reyna wasn't mad at him or that their loss hadn't affected their growing friendship in any bad way.

"It's time to go Ash," Oak said as he glanced at the clock. The plane left in 45 minutes.

"Take care of my boy please Rayna," Delia asked with a smile as she reached forward to scratch the Riolu behind the ear.

" _Ri,_ " Rayna agreed nodding happily at the woman while leaning into her hand.

"I love you Ash," Delia said as she gave her son one more bone crushing hug. "Stay safe."

"I love you too Mom. I promise I'll do my best to stay safe," Ash said while trying to keep the emotions he felt out of his voice.

Once Delia let him go Lance pulled Ash into his own hug.

"Good luck and remember to believe in yourself. I love you."

"Love you too," Ash answered. It was ridiculous to feel this emotional but he couldn't help it. While he was still a minor and his parents were still in charge of making the most important decisions in his life, he was leaving the nest as they say. When Ash comes back he'll still be coming home, but he'll just be visiting for a month at most. It would be years if ever that he truly lived with his parents again.

Ash let go and took a deep breath before turning towards the professor.

"I'm ready."

* * *

 **Finished! That took forever!**

 **I would like to extend a special thanks to my new beta derpestofMarphs! You're the best! I can already see a huge improvement between this chapter and the last.**

 **I'm already working on chapter three so hopefully that will be out soon for you guys.**

 **Tell me what you guys think! Please PLEASE review! They really make my day.**


	3. Chapter 3

The sun blinded Ash as he stepped off the plane. A warm sea breeze ruffled his hair making it even more messy than usual. The boy could hear Wingull in the distance. Ash took a deep breath of fresh air, savoring the non-artificialness of it. It hadn't taken long for the boy to figure out he hated planes. The confinement of being stuck in his seat for over 16 hours drove him mad and thoroughly tested Ash's control with his ADHD. He'd spent most of the flight practicing Safeguard, sleeping and going through the new files on his Pokedex.

Before Professor Oak had left him at the security check back in Kanto the man had updated his Pokedex to include Alolan Pokemon. Alola was one of the only regions left out of the Pokedex because the region didn't have a League. That meant trainers almost never traveled to Alola. If they ever wanted an island getaway they would head to Cinnabar, the Orange Island, or one of Hoenn's many tropical vacation spots. At least in those places there was a guarantee of other trainers to battle and a gym to challenge. Plus Alola was just so far out of the way, the trip was longer and the tickets often much more expensive.

Because of the new security measures Ella wouldn't be leaving Pallet with Ash when he got back. She would have her own Ace Trainer assigned for her to travel with. Even though Ella didn't have one of the Kanto Three Starters if Viola had joined Team Rocket it was possible the purple haired girl would target Ella. Better safe than sorry. Even so Ash had promised her a water type. If he could find one suitable and willing then he would bring it back to her.

After much consideration Ash planned to try to find Ella a Remoraid. They couldn't be found in Kanto and after evolution Octillery could maneuver outside of water. They evolved quickly, were great sharpshooters and easy to fish up in the city Ash was staying in. As for Pokemon Ash was interested in the boy was quite set on finding an Alolan Vulpix.

The Alolan Vulpix was an Ice Type, something very rare in Kanto. Besides, none of Kanto's ice types had the speed he was looking for. Just to sweeten the deal when Alolan Vulpix evolved it gained the Fairy Type. Fairy Types were also extremely rare in Kanto and none of them had the potential the Alolan Vulpix did. Ash has quite a few other Pokemon on his list that he would like to look for but the Alolan Vulpix took priority.

Ash had no expectations to catch all the Pokemon he was going for but he was going to try and find as many as he could. All of them couldn't be found in Kanto or were extremely rare and they all would make great additions to his team for one reason or another. Either they had amazing potential like Mudbray, Trapinch, Bagon, Rockruff, Bounsweet, Feebas, Noibat and Fletchling or they were one of the easiest Pokemon of their type to work with. Misdreavus and Absol fell into that category. Misdreavus were known for playing pranks like all Ghost Types but unlike other Ghosts wasn't nearly as mean spirited. Absol was probably the least dangerous Dark Type in terms of the Pokemon turning on their trainers. In fact they were sometimes called the Dark Guardian Angel, often showing up in places to warn people of the disasters they sensed. It was only a recent discovery that Absol was trying to help people instead of causing the disaster themselves.

Eevee had amazing potential to evolve into a number of different Pokemon. Sadly Eevee had been poached to the point of near extinction in Kanto. They were a protected species that no trainer was allowed to catch in the wild without special permission. The only other place you could legally obtain one was for a high price from a breeder. Apparently Alola didn't have that problem, in fact it was the opposite. They had a problem with an overpopulation of Eevee.

" ! Alola!"

Ash was broken out of his thoughts by a man that looked like a tan beach bum version of Professor Oak.

"Hello," Ash greeted as he walked up to the man. "I'm guessing you're Principal Samson Oak?"

"In the flesh!" The older man proclaimed while he shook Ash's hand happily. "I'm going to give you a tour of town and the Pokemon school then hand you off to Professor Kukie after his class gets out. That alright with you?"

"That's fine with me," Ash answered. He was a little disappointed he wouldn't get to start looking for Pokemon right away but was just as eager to start exploring town. Not only was this his first time out of Kanto but it was also his first time out of Pallet and in a big city. Ash was anxious to look around.

"Is it okay if I let my Riolu out?"

"Certainly! Any Pokemon is welcome in any public place and in any establishment in Alola as long as they can fit through the front door!"

That was a reasonable rule Ash thought. In Kanto the only places that were guaranteed to allow Pokemon were places run by the League. Whoever ran other places of business could decide if they allowed Pokemon or not. The rule was there to stop bigger or bulkier Pokemon from taking up too much space or accidentally destroying merchandise.

Rayna stretched and gave a happy whine when she made her appearance; she had never been inside a Pokeball that long before. Sadly the airline Ash flew with didn't allow Pokemon to be out during the flight.

"Now! Let's get moving like a Raikou and start burning ground like a Magmar!"

"..."

"Are you sure this is a school?" Ash asked for the fifth time.

"Yes I'm sure," Principal Oak said with a laugh. He was quite use to people reacting to seeing the campus for the first time this way. He always found it amusing, it was one of the reasons he designed the campus the way it was. Ash was still having a hard time believing it though. He felt like the building he was in was more of an extravagant tree house than a school. The entire structure was built off the side of a ginormous oak tree made up of multiple circular buildings. There was even a goddamned slide from the top of the tree that circled the buildings a few times before ending at the ground.

The students also seemed much happier to be in class than any child had the right to be. School had gotten out 15 minutes ago but many students hung back either to talk to their teachers, compare notes, spend time with their friends out in courtyard or battle. There wasn't the mad rush to get as far away from campus as fast as one could. That was the behavior Ash was used to at schools in Kanto.

"And here's my office!" Principal Oak exclaimed happily as he led Ash inside a spacious oval room.

Two men were inside waiting for them. The first was bare chested and wore a white lab coat, paired with grey athletic sweatpants, white tennis shoes, mirrored sunglasses and a Pokemon Fan Club hat. The man had tan skin and wore his medium length dark brown hair in a ponytail. The other was a boy that looked a few years older than Ash. The only thing he had over his torso was what Ash thought to be a local traditional or ceremonial necklace. He wore red board shorts, an elaborate belt, red sandals, and some sort of black feather shoulder cover. The boy had dark skin with red and black spiked hair.

"Ash may I introduce you to the esteemed Professor Kukui and one of our most successful students, Kiawe," Principal Oak introduced with a wave of his hand. "And this is Ash Ketchum, one of my cousins Pallet Prodigy's from Kanto. Up there on his shoulder is his partner Rayna."

"Ahh, I wouldn't call myself a prodigy," Ash said sheepishly as he shook the professor's hand.

"Nonsense," Professor Kukie said. Ash could already tell the man was incredibly laid back. "Every few years one of the regional professors will start bragging about a group of kids they're sponsoring that always go far. Last time it was Professor Rowan in Sinnoh and now those kids are all high level Ace Trainers, some of the youngest there's ever been. Professor Oak hasn't been able to stop talking about you or his grandson since you two started walking. He's certain you boys were meant for greatness. The last few years he's also been going on about another girl your age."

"Ella?" Ash asked.

"Yeah her! The academic community has nicknamed you three the Pallet Prodigies, something Professor Oak wants to trademark."

"But I thought Professor Oak was trying to keep information about Gary and I secret though?"

"To the public. Everyone high up in Indigo knows about you boys so naturally anyone high up in the other Leagues does too. Here in Alola it's only Principal Oak and I."

"Ah." It shouldn't have surprised Ash that people in other regions knew about him.

The regions were always trying to playfully one up each other, anything from where the latest scientific discovery had come from to who had produced the best trainers that year. Today the competition was helping get coordinating started throughout all the regions. Since the contests had erupted in Hoenn twelve years back the other regions had been scrambling to set up their own Grand Festivals. It took a lot of money to set up all the contest halls but once they got started whatever League they took place in usually made even by the end of the first year. Kanto had been the second region to set to set up contest circuit and Lance said it was one of the best decisions they ever made. After the success in Kanto the League was putting together a contest circuit in Johto as quickly as possible. The amount of revenue the League brought in was ridiculous.

Indigo was famous for barley taxing its citizens. It made all its money through League operations. Things like Indigos line of luxury cruise ships, riding the magnet train, the bicycle lane and a long list of other amenities. There was also the Indigo and Silver Conferences. Every hotel, restaurant, gift shop and anything else in Indigo and Silver Village was owned by the League. Plus now there was highly priced tickets for the Contests that always sold out. Last but definitely not least were the Gyms. Just like any other battle if you lost at a Gym you had to pay a fee to the winner, the Gym Leader and the League. If you won you got the badge. You weren't even allowed to challenge the Gym if you didn't have a certain amount of money in your bank account.

"And finally we come to the reason you're here," Principal Oak said, managing to break Ash out of his rambling thoughts. "The egg."

Ash placed his backpack gently down on the couch before unzipping it and pulled his precious cargo out. "Here you are," Ash said as he handed the egg over. "Safe and sound."

Principal Oak took the egg in the incubator from Ash and looked it over carefully.

"All seems fine. Sometimes eggs don't react well to being up in high altitude. I'll let Samuel know the egg got here safely."

Principal Oak set the egg down on his desk before walking over to shake Ash's hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you young man and you too Rayna. From here on out I'll leave you in Professor Kukui's capable hands."

"Thank you so much for your hospitality," Ash said as he bowed his head slightly.

"Think nothing of it. Enjoy Alola!"

Ash thanked the friendly principal one more time before he followed Professor Kukui and Kiawe out of the office. "Now let's talk about you catching some Pokemon Ash'" Professor Kukui said as he lead the boys down the hallway. Ash perked up right away, this was what he had been looking forward to.

"The Alola Region is made up of four large islands with many Pokemon scattered across them. It would take months to travel all of it. That's where Kiawe comes in," the professor nodded his head at the boy that had been silent so far.

"He does deliveries for his family's farm in the morning on his Charizard before school. He's gonna pick you up bright an early before he gets started on those deliveries to drop you off wherever you want to go and then come pick you up after school."

That worked fine for Ash. The schedule gave him plenty of time to find Pokemon and also time to train in the evening.

"Thanks for going out of your way for me," Ash thanked Kiawe.

"Don't worry about it," Kiawe said with a smile. "It's an honor to show someone my home."

The small group stepped out of the building and into the courtyard. Ash had to blink a few times to adjust his eyes to the harsh sun and the boy heard Rayna let out a whine on his shoulder.

"Kiawe!"

A girl taller than Ash that wore jean short overalls ran towards them. She looked athletic and had fashioned her long green hair into pigtails. There was a pink and green round Pokemon jumping at her side. It kinda reminded Ash of a berry.

"There you are! We were all about to head over to my father's restaurant," the girl said as she grabbed Kiawe's hand and started to tug him away.

"Yeah, wait," Kiawe said as he turned towards Ash. "Do you wanna come with us? I can introduce you to my friends and then show you where some wild Pokemon are after we eat."

"That sounds great but aren't I supposed to stay with Professor Kukui?" Ash asked as he looked towards the professor.

"Nope," the professor said with a shake off his head. "You're just staying at my place. Kiawe can drop you off before he heads home."

"Then I'd love to go with you guys," Ash answered with a smile.

Making new friends hadn't been at the top of Ash's to do list, but now that he had the opportunity he couldn't say no. It would be fun to keep in touch with people from a far off region and watched how they all grew differently.

"Awesome!" The girl exclaimed as she grabbed Ash's hand and dragged him and Kiawe forward. Rayna had to grab onto Ash's hair to stay on his shoulder causing the boy to give a small cry. Ash sent the Pokemon an annoyed look but the Riolu just shrugged.

"Found him!" The girl called to a group of kids waiting by the road. "And this guy is coming with us!"

"Um, who's this guy?" asked a smaller girl that Ash could tell from one look was a Water Type trainer. The small blue seal like Pokemon at her side only helped confirm that assumption.

"He's….wait a second who are you?"

"I'm Ash and this is my partner Rayna."

" _Ri ri!_ " Rayna called with a wave.

"Are you a new student?" asked a taller girl with long blonde hair dressed in a white dress and large sun hat. For some reason Ash felt a bit of heat creep into his face when he looked at her and blushed slightly as she directly spoke to him.

"No, I'm just visiting for the week," Ash said quickly as he mentally shook his strange feelings off.

"Remember Professor Kukui said a trainer from Kanto was going to be visiting while on an errand for Principal Oak," Kiawe said.

"Oh yeah! I remember now! He's supposed to be giving a presentation in class about the Kanto region," exclaimed the only other boy in the group. The boy was short and round with orange messy hair and squinty eyes like he spent all his time looking at a screen. There was small circular white and gray Pokemon in his arms. The Pokemon had brown and yellow marking and yellow cheek sacks that reminded Ash of a Pikachu.

"I am?" Ash asked feeling quite off guard. No one said anything about a presentation!

"I think you're supposed to," the girl in the white dress as she dug through her bag. She pulled out a sleek looking Pokenav and scrolled through it until she found what she was looking for. "Here it is! My calendar says we're supposed to have a guest speaker from Kanto next Wednesday. That must be you unless there's another trainer from Kanto visiting this week?"

"No, just me," Ash mumbled feeling annoyed. Professor Oak had a lot of explaining to do when Ash called him later. And the Pokemon snickering on his shoulder was very lucky she wasn't a native Kanto Pokemon right now.

"We can get that sorted out later," said the girl with the pigtails. "Anyway, I'm Mallow and this is Bounsweet," Mallow introduced herself while pointing to the berry like Pokemon beside her.

"I'm Lana and this is Popplio," the water girl said with a tiny wave. The seal like Pokemon with her that must be Popplio gave a happy bark.

"I'm Sophocles and this is my buddy Togedemaru!" The small boy exclaimed happy.

"And I'm Lillie," the blonde girl said with a shy smile. Once again Ash had a push down a blush when the girl looked at him. 'What's wrong with me me?' the boy thought slightly frustrated with himself.

"It nice to meet you all," Ash said to the group. Ash was about to ask a question about the Pokemon on the island but his growling stomach interrupted him.

"You mentioned food?" a sheepish Ash asked Mallow as the group laughed.

"Yeah, just down the road. Race you guys!" an excited Mallow shouted as she took off with a group of hungry teenagers on her heels.

"This is so good," Ash moaned as he shoved more food into his mouth.

"I'm glad you like it," Mallow said as she was finally able to sit down to enjoy her own cooking.

Mallow's family restaurant was a cozy little place filled with happy people. Ash thought his mother might have owned a place like this if she had chosen to pursue her passion for cooking instead of Pokemon.

"So what Pokemon are you most interested in catching Ash?" Kiawe asked.

"The Pokemon at the top of my list is an Alolan form Vulpix," Ash answered after he swallowed.

"Can you wait until the weekend to go look for one? Vulpix can only be found up near the top of Mt. Lanakila. You don't want to be stuck up there all day, you'll freeze," Kiawe said.

As much as Ash wanted to find a Vulpix he agreed with Kiawe. He didn't want to end up stranded on a bitterly cold mountain while he waited for the older boy to get out of school.

"What about Feebas?" Ash asked after taking a second to consider what Pokemon he wanted most after Vulpix.

A water type would come in handy against Brock not to mention the Feebas's evolution Milotic was a powerhouse. Professor Oak had a surplus of Prism Scales so he could evolve it as soon as he got home and use whatever time he had left in Alola to work on speed and agility.

"They live in the ponds on Brooklet Hill," Lana answered. "They're quite rare though. Your best chance of finding one is in the smaller ponds around the lake. Look for large cave like boulders with bubbles coming out of them in the water, Feebas like to hide in them."

"Brooklet Hill is on Akala Island so I can take you there tomorrow," Kiawe said.

"Thanks," Ash answered both of them with a smile.

"Is there any Pokemon on Melemele Island we can help you find today?" Mallow asked.

"I don't know, I forgot to mark down the locations of all the Pokemon I wanted. Here," Ash said as he passed over his Pokedex. "Is there anything we can find here?

"Misdreavus, Noibat, Bagon, and Rockruff all live on Melemele Island," Lillie said as she scanned through Ash's list. "If fact Misdreavus can be found in a cemetery not far from here."

"But they only come out at night," Sophocles added. "And the really nasty Gastly and Haunter come out at the same time. People have even said they've seen Gengar every once and awhile. You shouldn't be going to the cemetery at night unless you have some really strong Pokemon with you."

Mallow's face furrowed in thought. "I think we'll be fine if we go at dusk and stay to the outskirts. Misdreavus are usually social so one might come to us if we're lucky."

"Worth a short," Ash shrugged.

"Rockruff don't live far from Professor Kukui's house so we can check that out after I drop you off tomorrow," Kiawe said. "And Bagon live on the bluffs of Route Three, I don't think we have enough time to head out there today, plus they're pretty rare. I think we have time to go look for a Noibat though, they can be found in Verdant Cavern at the end of Route Two. Route Two is pretty short and we're not that far away from it."

"Alright then!" Ash exclaimed happily as he stood from his seat. "Let's go!"

Ash and he new friends walked briskly down Route Two together. The six of them had hurriedly helped Mallow clean up after their meal and were soon off all hopeful that they could get to Verdant Cavern, catch a Noibat, and be back before dusk. Route Two was actually quite large if you went further inland. It was the main road along the coast that connected Hau'oli City to the famous Melemele Beachfront Hotel, the berry fields and Verdant Cavern that was short. Apparently Verdant Cavern was one of the Alolan trial sites and they would need special permission from the Nurse Joy in the Pokemon Center outside before going in.

From what Ash could tell the Alolan Island Challenge was in ways similar to the League back home. Challengers had to travel all over the Alolan Islands and beat the Totem Pokemon at each trial site. Totem Pokemon are supposed to be powerful ancient Pokemon that guard each sacred trial site and test challengers. After defeating all the Totem Pokemon on the island the Challenger could then battle the Island Kahuna. The Kahunas were the most powerful trainers on each island and like Gym Leaders are tasked with protecting and governing whatever island they resided on. The challenger could consider their Challenge compete after they beat all the island Kahunas.

Ash could get behind that. The only reasons to take on the Alolan Island Challenge were to better one's self and celebrate Alolan culture. The only material rewards challengers might receive were a Z Crystal if a Totem Pokemon decided they were worthy. There was no conference, no fame, no way to rise in power, and no high paying League job if you did well in the conference.

"There's the Beachfront," Lillie said as they walked towards a large building on their left side. "It's in no way a five star hotel but that's not what attracts people to it, it's the surfing spot. The beach connected to the hotel is one of the best Mantine Surfing spots in the world. They regularly hold large competitions including the Alolan spot on the world cup circuit later this summer."

Lillie was acting as Ash's guide. She walked beside him and pointed out places of interest when they passed them. The others also added any little fun facts they might know but for the most part talked about school. They included Ash in their talk by asking him about how different subjects they discussed might have been taught differently in Kanto. Often Ash had more information to add to their discussion, one of the side effects from growing up around the most successful Pokemon Professor in the world.

Ash kept his eyes peeled for Pokemon as they entered a more wooded part of the route. There were no Pokemon that usually lived on Route Two that Ash was interested in but you never knew what you could find. Pokemon that were migrating or hitched a ride from another region on one of the numerous freight ships that docked in Hau'oli City might be wondering around. And there were also Pokemon that could have been abandoned here but Ash tried not to think about that.

"There it is!" An excited Sophocles exclaimed as he pointed ahead towards a building Ash recognized as a Pokemon Center. They made good time. If they wanted enough time to get back to Hau'oli City and heal their Pokemon if they had to Ash had little over two and a half hours to find a Noibat.

"Hello!" A cheery Nurse Joy greeted them from behind the counter and the group entered the center. "How can I help you today?"

"I'm here to try to catch a Noibat," Ash said as he approached the counter.

"Are you a trial goer?" Nurse Joy asked with a tilt of her head.

"No. I'm a trainer visiting from Kanto. I'm trying to catch some Pokemon that can't be found back home."

"Alright, I'm going to need to check your I.D. first though."

Ash handed his Pokedex over to the nurse.

"Noibat are the shyest Pokemon in the cavern so I would suggest splitting up so your friend has a chance. You all can take some berries from the cafeteria to distract the other Pokemon while Mr. Ketchum tries the lure a Noibat out," the nurse explained as she went over Ash's trainer account on her computer. "There's two levels to Verdant Cavern, please stay in the first. The second one is where the Totem Pokemon lives, there's a volunteer blocking the way so you can't miss it."

"I'll go get the fruit," Mallow said as she turned away from the group. "Be right back!"

"Looks like you're all set," Nurse Joy said as she handed Ash back his Pokedex. "Don't forget to stop by if you need me to heal your Pokemon."

"We will," Ash promised as he turned away from the counter. "Thanks for all the help."

"You're welcome and good luck!"

Mallow rushed back into the room from around the corner with two bags swinging from her hands as the group neared the door.

"One bag for us!" The green haired girl said while she held out one of the bags to Ash. "And one for you!" Ash peeped into his bag as he took it from Mallow to find it filled with berries all kinds.

"Thanks Mallow," Ash said as he passed one of the berries to Rayna who was currently standing beside him. The fighting type happily bit into the fruit as she eyed the bag at Ash's side.

"You can share what's left with Noibat if we catch one later," Ash promised his starter with a huff. It seemed like Rayna had an appetite as big as her trainers. Rayna gave a little whine but other than that didn't complain.

"I'm all set if you guys are," Ash said.

"I think I'm going to wait here for you guys," a nervous looking Lillie said as she wrung her hands.

"I'll stay with you then," a relieved looking Sophocles added as he plopped down on a couch. "You guys go on ahead."

"Alright," Ash said hesitantly with a tilt of his head. He'd been looking forward to exploring the cavern with everyone but if Lillie and Sophocles didn't want to come he wasn't going to force them. For some reason though the thought of leaving Lillie behind left Ash's stomach twisted in uncomfortable knots.

"Okay, we'll see you guys in a little while," an excited Mallow said as she grabbed Ash's wrist and pulled him through the door. Ash was only able to send a quick wave to his friends staying behind before the doors shut.

"Sorry Ash," Mallow said with a sigh as she slowed down. "I didn't want to embarrass Lillie or Sophocles."

"Embarrass?" Ash asked confused. Next to him Rayna gave a concerned bark.

"Yeah," Kiawe said as he and Lana came up behind them. "Something happened to Lillie as a kid that makes her scared to touch Pokemon. She can be around Pokemon and she loves them, she just can't bring herself to touch them. And Sophocles isn't the biggest fan of the dark." Ash nodded his understanding before turning towards the entrance of Verdant Cavern. "Let's go!"

The first part of Verdant Cavern wasn't very big. Ash could just make out the bright blue shirt of the Volunteer posted outside the second level from the entrance. There were arches and walkways that looked to be made by the Pokemon living in the cavern that went both up and down. Everything seemed to be covered in moss and ferns giving the area a green alien glow. Tunnels had been dug into the wall that a Pokemon Ash didn't recognize and one he thought might be an Alolan Rattata, peaked out of. Gaps in the ceiling let in just enough golden light that Ash could make out his surroundings. All in all, Ash thought Verdant Cavern was beautiful.

"We're gonna head down and try to lure as many Pokemon as we can to us. You head up, I think I can make out some purple forms up there," Lana said as she pointed towards the ceiling. Sure enough when Ash looked hard he could make out purple bat like Pokemon. Some of them looked bigger and scruffier than the others.

"Alright," Ash said as he made his way up the walkway to the left. "Have fun you guys!"

Ash had to be careful not to step on any Pokemon rushing by as the cavern inhabitants became aware that the humans down below had food. Ash hugged his berry bag tightly to his chest and anytime a Pokemon stopped him he would point it towards his friends. Seeing wild Pokemon this friendly and trusting of humans was quite disconcerting but Ash chalked it up to the Pokemon living in a trail site, they must be used to humans.

By the time the rush stopped, the only Pokemon left up top seemed to be a group of Noibat that were watching the proceedings down below curiously. They had flow down from their perch and were spying on the other side of the same walkway Ash was on.

"Hey," Ash called softly to the group. The Noibat turned towards him looking rather startled but didn't fly away, a good sign in Ash's book. "I got some food too," the trainer said as he held a berry out in his hand.

The Noibat looked interested but before they could make a move something dropped to the ground behind them. The Sound Wave Pokemon gave alarmed cries and some flew off but most of them relaxed once they seemed to recognize the intrusion. Ash could just make out another Noibat behind the group straightening itself up and shaking its head before it jumped up and started to grapple it's way though the other dragon Pokemon towards him. The little creature had no problem climbing up the backs of other Noibat and jumping on their heads to make its way forward.

After wrangling its way to the front the Noibat scurried towards Ash until it was about half a foot away. It was bipedal creature that looked almost three feet tall, much bigger than normal. Noibat had purple skin with black tuffy fur on the bottom and top of its torso, leaving the middle bare. Its arms were purple wings with two black claws at the end. Its head was the opposite of its body with black skin and purple fur above Noibat top lip. On top of its head were two gigantic ears, purple and black in color and shaped like a sound speakers.

"Noi," the creature said as it tilted its head. It looked back and forth between Ash's face and the berry in his hand while giving Ash some of the most adorable puppy dog eyes the boy had ever seen with its shining golden orbs.

"If I give this to you do you promise not to run away?"

Noibat nodded its head eagerly while making happy chirps. "Alright, here you go." The pecha berry Ash offered Noibat was quickly plucked out of his hand and the Pokemon happily plopped down on the cavern floor to munch on its prize.

"Hey Noibat," Ash said as he also sat down and leaned against the wall. Rayna took the opportunity to jump into her trainers lap. The dragon made a chirp between bites to let Ash know it was listening. "I'm on a journey to become a Pokemon Master and an Aura Guardian. I want you to come along if that's alright with you. I promise to make you strong and powerful. I also promise to be your friend."

Noibat stopped munching on its berry as it considered Ash's words. After a few minutes it pointed towards the exit of the cavern while makes a series of chirps. Ash could see longing in the Pokemons eyes. "Yeah we'll leave the cavern," Ash said with a smile. "We'll visit and explore lots of new places all around the world. In fact if you come with me we'll leave for a new region across the ocean in a week."

Noibat let out a happy squeak and started to jump up and down, its berry laying forgotten on the floor.

"So you'll come with me?" Ash asked excitedly, not being able to believe his luck.

Noibat nodded it's head before tacking up a fighting stance, rolling it's closed fists in front of it's face like a boxer.

"You wanna battle first?"

Noibat nodded.

"If it's a battle you want it's a battle you'll get!" Ash said while he stood up. "Ready Rayna?"

"Ri ri!" The fighting type exclaimed as she jumped in front of Ash ready for a battle.

Noibat flew halfway across the walkway where it waited for Ash to make the first move up in the air.

"Foresight!" Rayna's eyes gleamed as she locked in on Noibat, committing the dragons aura signature to memory so she could always keep track of it.

"Good, now Quick Attack!" Rayna sped towards Noibat at high speed, using the ledges around the cavern to make her way up to the dragon. As soon as Rayna was as close as she could get she jumped at Noibat powered by Quick Attack. Noibat was ready though. As soon as Rayna's feet left the ground the flying type sent a Gust at the Riolu that knocked her back onto the ground hard.

"Counter!" Ash shouted not missing a beat.

Rayna took a second to pick herself up before she took off after Noibat again. Noibat tried to dodge but Rayna twisted her body in midair last second to hit Noibat, Foresight letting the fighting type keep track on the dragon. Both Pokemon fell to the ground but while Rayna landed nimbly on her feet Noibat crashed down hard. Ash prepared a Pokeball in his hand as Noibat struggled back onto its knees. The Sound Wave Pokemon gave a determined cry before a green glow surrounded it and Rayna.

'Shoot! Absorb!' Ash thought. "Force Palm quick!"

Rayna charged Force Palm as she ran towards Noibat. She was able to use the attack faster, but it still wasn't perfect. In this case though all the time she needed was the amount of time it took to close the distance between her and Noibat. As Rayna got closer though she began to slow and look ragged while Noibat was finally up on its feet obviously feeling much better than it had a few seconds ago. Noibat's efforts weren't enough though; it wasn't able to get back in the sky before Rayna arrived knocking a full powered Force Palm into its head.

Ash threw the Pokeball as soon as Rayna's attack hit. The boys aim was true and the capture device hit Noibat in the stomach, sucking the creature inside it. The Pokeball rolled once, then twice until finally coming to a halt and signifying it capture with a satisfying click. Ash took a moment to study the Pokeball on the ground in shock. His first capture.

"Rayna," Ash said as a huge smile split across his face. "We did it!"

"Ri ri!" The Emanation Pokemon cried as she jumped into her trainer's arms who swung her around while laughing.

Ash came to a halt and placed a tired Rayna on his shoulder. The boy then walked across the walkway to receive his prize. The feeling of picking up the Pokeball of his first captured Pokemon for the first time had none of the surrealism getting Rayna had. This was undoubtedly real. And Ash and his starter had done it by themselves. 'Well...not quite by ourselves' Ash thought as he looked down to find his new friends still entertaining the wild Pokemon.

"I think it's time to head back. Our new friend needs to be checked out by Nurse Joy."

"Rio," Rayna agreed as she tiredly rested her head against her trainers.

"Let's go," Ash said as he clipped his new Pokemon to his belt.

" _Noibat, the sound wave Pokemon. They live in pitch-black caves. Their enormous ears can emit ultrasonic waves of 200,000 hertz. This Noibat is male and has the ability Infiltrator. This Noibat knows the moves Tackle, Supersonic, Screech, Absorb and Gust. Its egg move Tailwind hasn't been unlocked yet."_

Ash hummed as his Pokedex scanned Noibat over. He could already come up with a lot of combos with Noibat's move list but from what Ash saw in their battle his moves were far from perfected. The only reason Noibat's Gust was able to blow Rayna away was because she was in midair. If Gust were to have hit Rayna while she had been on the ground it barely would have affected her. Noibat's Absorb looked good though. Ash wanted to see it a few more times before he called it mastered but he thought it was okay. Ash still had no idea how well Noibat was able to perform his other moves.

Ash's new team member was currently walking along beside him with Rayna. The little dragon was hungrily taking in the world around him while just as hungrily munching on a berry. Ash thought Rayna was explaining what the things around them were as he watched his starter chatter excitedly and make wave motions with her arms after pointing towards the ocean.

"They already look like really good friends," Lana observed as she watched Ash's Pokemon.

"Yeah, I think they're gonna do great together in double battles," Ash answered. At the moment Rayna was more of a close up battler and Noibat would fight best at a distance. In a double battle Noibat would be great cover for Rayna to let her get in close with her more damaging moves.

The group had met up with Sophocles and Lillie at the Pokemon Center and had waited there about a half hour for Nurse Joy to heal Noibat and Rayna before setting back off to Hau'oil City. There were making pretty good time and would be back well before dusk. Luckily Noibat had been a fast catch.

"There's the Beachfront," Kiawe said as the hotel came into view. "We've almost back. We got an hour until dusk so do you wanna go back to the city for now or straight to the cemetery?"

"Let's go straight there," Ash answered. "If we're lucky a Misdreavus might decide to come out early."

"Noi?" Ash looked down to find Noibat tugging on his pants leg, the Pokemons big eyes locked on Ash's backpack. "Only one more," Ash sighed as he pulled another berry out of his pack. "You need to have room for dinner."

"Noi!" Noibat squeaked happily as it reached up for the berry. Ash didn't want Noibat to become spoiled but he also wanted to teach him that food wasn't going to be an issue anymore as quickly as possible.

Most freshly caught wild Pokemon gorged themselves on food the first week or so as they were used to doing so in the wild. It's how they survived. If you found food in the wild you either ate it or hid it before something else could. Ash held the berry out to Noibat but before the Pokemon could take it something swooped down and grabbed it from Ash's hand.

"Hey!"

A tan and white creature landed on a tree not far from them and started to munch down on its plunder. Now still Ash could see that it was owl like and had a green leaf like bow sprouted under it neck. Ash knew what it was but he was having a hard time believing what he was seeing.

"A Rowlet?" Mallow asked confused.

"I thought they were really rare and only given away as starter Pokemon?" Ash asked

"They are," Lana said. "This one must have been abandoned unless its trainer is nearby."

"Abandoned," Ash murmured. The very thought made Ash's blood boil. Especially if it was a Pokemon like Rowlet that had been raised by humans since birth, it wouldn't know how to survive in the wild. Ash didn't know how things worked in Alola but back home Pokemon Abandonment is illegal. If you didn't want a Pokemon anymore or could no longer care for it you could turn it into your nearest Pokemon Center. Then the League would either find the Pokemon a new trainer, place it in a sanctuary or release it into its proper habitat all depending on the Pokemons ability to care for itself in the wild.

Upon closer look it was easy to see this Rowlet had been out on its own for a while. It looked ragged, dirty and way to skinny. Either this Pokemon had been lost for a long time or had no one to take care of it.

"Noi! Noibat!" Noibat screeched angrily as it took off after Rowlet. There was no way he was going to let it steal his last berry.

Ash primed another Pokeball in his hand in preparation. Rowlet had been a Pokemon Ash had wanted to catch before he found out they couldn't be found in the wild, he wasn't about to let this opportunity go. Plus this Rowlet looked like it didn't know how to hunt if it had resorted to stealing from humans. Ash couldn't just leave it here.

"Are you ready for our first battle Noibat?" Ash called.

"Noi!" Noibat called as he raced towards Rowlet. Rowlet didn't seem to care about the approaching dragon, it was too busy desperately scarfing down its berry. Rowlet was obviously starving and Ash felt a bit of guilt for what he was about to do but shook it off quick. Once he caught Rowlet he'd get it to a Pokemon Center so it could get it the help it needed.

"Supersonic!" Ash cried as Noibat got closer.

Noibat didn't pause as he let out condensed soundwaves from its ears that hit Rowlet dead on. Ash made a mental note that the Supersonic could be more condensed and powerful. Rowlet cried out and started to shake its head when Supersonic hit. The owl like Pokemon looked dizzy and confused as it swayed back and forth on its branch. It never let go of its berry though.

"Tackle!"

Noibat hit Rowlet hard on its stomach and sent the poor creature crashing into the tree trunk. Rowlet was clearly knocked out as it made no attempts to to stop it's fall to the ground below.

Ash wasn't going to let that happen though, an empty Pokeball hit Rowlet and sucked it inside before the creature could hit the earth. The Pokemon shook violently for a few moments as Ash and the group held their breath before finally coming to a halt with a final click. Ash ran over to pick up Rowlets new Pokeball before hurriedly returning Rayna and Noibat and turning to the gang.

"Where the nearest Pokemon Center?"

"Rowlet is suffering from extreme malnutrition, dehydration and slight poisoning. The poor thing is incredibly weak and it's a miracle a Growlithe hasn't gotten him let. Rowlets going to be okay though. I've already administered an antidote and now that Rowlet is in the right hands he can start gaining weight and getting his strength back. I want to keep him at least until tomorrow for observation to make sure there's no other complications the long exposure to poison caused." Ash listened intently as Nurse Joy explained Rowlets condition.

The boy felt a wave of relief spread through him now knowing that Rowlet would make a full recovery.

Ash's new friends had left soon after they arrived at the Pokemon Center. It would take Nurse Joy a few hours to update them on Rowlets condition and they all needed to be up early tomorrow. They had given Ash all their Pokenav numbers and demanded he update them as soon as he knew anything before they left.

Another number they gave Ash was Professor Kukui's. Ash had called the man as soon as his friends left to explain why he would be spending the night at the Pokemon Center instead of his place. Kukui had been incredibly understanding and also asked Ash update him on Rowlets condition before hanging up.

"Did he show any distrust towards humans?"

"Not towards me," Nurse Joy answered. "But that might be because he knows I'm here to help if Rowlet was raised by humans, I don't know how he'll take to having another trainer. Some abandoned Pokemon distrust and even hate their new trainers because they think they will be abandoned again while some worship the ground they walk on for saving them. All abandoned Pokemon suffer from some kind of insecurities though and often they were also abused. It just really depends on the circumstances the Pokemon went through, the personality of the Pokemon and new trainer. It's my educated guess that Rowlet will be wary of you at first but eventually come around."

Nurse Joy seemed to consider what she was going to say next before speaking. "I know you're a new trainer and Rowlet might be a little much for you to handle right now. I can find him a good home if you want me too?"

"No thank you," Ash answered quickly. Ash would _never_ give up on a Pokemon. Not to mention the sense of responsibility Ash felt towards Rowlet now, he was going to give the little creature the best life possible to make up for his dismal start. "I'm Rowlets trainer now and I'm not going to give him up."

"Alright," Nurse Joy said with a kind smile and knowing eyes. "Just remember to ask for help if you need it."

"I promise."

"Good. Now would you like me to take a look at your other Pokemon?"

"They were just checked out a few hours ago. Thanks for everything though Nurse Joy."

"You're welcome. I'll call you over the intercom if there are any changes."

Ash shoved his hands in his pockets has he headed to the cafeteria. Tomorrow was going to be a training day. Rayna was so close to getting Focus Plam right Ash was hopeful she would get it tomorrow so they could work on mastering it. Ash would like to get her started on another move before they left. Noibat seemed to know how to use all his moves perfectly, he just needed to refine them.

Ash released Rayna and Noibat once he had a table and food laid out for them. Noibat let out a happy chirp before digging into his dinner with gusto, he didn't seem to be upset about his stolen berry anymore. Rayna on the other hand jumped into Ash's lap and gave him a searching look. "Rowlets going to be fine," Ash said softly.

"Ri," Rayna nodded looking pleased before contently turning to her own food.

After Ash and his Pokemon were done eating they headed to Rowlets room to check on him. When they got there they found the Pokemon sitting up and looking out the window. Ash knocked twice on the open door to get Rowlets attention without startling him. The owl like Pokemon turned towards them quickly and hissed aggressively once he caught sight of Noibat. Noibat in return growled from where he stood by Ash's side.

"None of that. We're here to make friends." Ash said sternly to Noibat. The little dragon whined but did as he was told.

"Hi Rowlet," Ash said gently as he walked towards the Pokemon slowly. Rowlet regarded Ash suspiciously but didn't try to stop his approach. "I'm Ash, your new trainer." Ash stopped in his tracks as Rowlet gave an angry hoot.

"Rio, ri." Rayna jumped up at the end of the bed and settled herself against the footboard. Rowlet gave a startled hoot before regarding Rayna with renewed interest. Rayna crawled forward until she was within reach of Rowlet and held out her hand. Rowlet hesitated before slowly putting his wing in Rayna's paw.

The two locked eyes as Rayna communicated to Grass Quill Pokemon though Aura. By the time Ash had settled himself at the end of the bed Rayna and Rowlet had already separated. Rowlet gave a sad hoot as he sat back and Rayna nodded. Rayna then extended her hand to Ash and the trainer knew what she wanted from him right away. Ash slowly reached his hand towards Rowlet and let the grass and flying type take his time mirroring his action. When the two touched the boy let his Aura flow towards the Pokemon, sending his emotions, dreams and ambitions to the owl like Pokemon.

In return Ash could feel Rowlets despair, depression and desperation flow into him. When the two separated Rowlet didn't seem wary of its new trainer anymore, instead looking on with watery eyes. Ash opened his arms towards the hurt Pokemon and almost immediately found them full with a shaking Rowlet. The poor Pokemon sobbed into the boys arms as it grieved it's old life and happily welcomed its new one at the same time. It took over ten minutes for Rowlet to pull away and when he did he looked a lot better emotionally, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Feel better?" Ash asked with a small smile.

"Rrr," Rowlet agreed sleepy as it settled back into the bed.

"You get some rest," Ash said as he stood. "We'll be back in the morning to check on you." "Row!" Rowlet shot up immediately and surged towards Ash.

"Row, Rrrrrrrr!" The creature begged as it hung onto the boy.

'So Rowlet was going to end up latching onto him like Nurse Joy warned me' Ash thought as he observed the bird hanging onto him in shock. 'At least it better than hating me' the boy consider warily.

"Okay, okay, I'll be back," Ash promised. "But I gotta go make some calls and get washed up first, but I'll be back. Rayna can stay with you in the meantime." Ash's words seemed to calm the distressed Pokemon but Rowlet still didn't let go, still seeming unsure.

"I'll be back in two hours tops and bring back some berries," the boy pleaded. Ash himself didn't want to leave Rowlet either but there were things that needed to get done before bed and Ash would prefer if Rowlet could get some extra sleep while he was gone.

"Ri," Rayna said as she finally interfered. She placed her paw on Rowlets shoulder and slowly pushed him back into the bed before snuggling next to him.

"Rrr?" Rowlet cocked his head to the side as he still looked at Ash uncertainty.

"Berries," Ash vowed with a gentle smile. "And we can even start considering some nicknames later if you want."

Rowlet finally gave a content nod before settling down besides Rayna. Ash gave a relieved sigh as he hoisted Noibat up and quietly left the room. By the time the door clicked shut behind him Rowlet was already asleep.

Ash stepped out of the steaming bathroom in his room half an hour later wearing basketball shorts and a loose t-shirt. The hot water had been a God send on his aching muscles after a 16 hour flight and a full day of walking. Ash discarded Pokenav lay on the bed with a small yellow light blinking in the right hand corner signaling that he had received a message. It wasn't surprising considering Ash had sent a group message to all his new friends and Professor Kukui updating them on Rowlets condition. He had also sent messages to his mother, Lance and Professor Oak telling them to expect calls from him soon.

Noibat called out a greeting from where he was in the corner of the room practicing some stretching exercises Ash had laid out for him. The room itself was rather simple and small. The layout was L shaped with a bathroom attached to the upper right side. At the top of the L was a double sized bed and there was a comfy looking chair next to the closet by the door but other than that the room was left open to fit Pokemon.

Ash flopped down on the bed and grabbed his Pokenav. It only took him a minute to sort out the messages from his friends telling him how relieved they were that Rowlet was going to be fine and that they would see him after school tomorrow. Ash shot back a quick message updating them on Rowlet's emotional and mental health before turning to what he deemed more important messages.

Delia, Lance and Professor Oak had all sent him messages telling him that he could call any time. His mom told him to just call Oak because she was already heading over to the ranch for work. There was also one from Gary asking him to call so they could catch up.

Ash elected to call his mom and Professor Oak first, propping himself up properly in the bed while the phone rang. The phone was answered on the third ring bringing Professor Oak and Delia into view.

"Hi honey!" Delia exclaimed as soon as she caught sight of her son. "How are you doing?"

"Great," Ash replied with a tired smile. "I can't believe it's only been one day," the boy added slightly embarrassed.

"Well, what have you been up to?" Professor Oak asked as he leaned back in his chair while Delia leaned forward excitedly. Ash then took them quickly though his day starting from when he got off the plane to when he left Rowlet and Rayna.

"Poor Rowlet." Delia bemoaned sadly at the circumstances around Ash's newest capture. "Any chance on finding who did this?"

"I don't know, I'll look into it tomorrow."

"You have your Noibat with you right Ash?" Professor Oak asked.

"Yeah, he's right here."

"Can I see him please? You mentioned you think his size was bigger than normal."

Noibat had already climbed onto the bed and was spying the Pokenav curiously from where he sat by Ash's feet. All the boy had to do was beckon with his hand to get the rambunctious Pokemon to climb into his lap.

"Goodness gracious!" Oak exclaimed as he caught sight of the dragon.

"Is something wrong?" Ash asked concerned. Noibat tilted its head and pressed forward until his face was almost touching the screen, watching the little people on it with interest.

"Ash, your Noibat is double the size of a normal one. And if I'm correct he's still very young and nowhere near evolution!" Ash blinked before looking down at the creature settled on his lap in awe.

Noibat looked almost weary as Ash regarded him, as if waiting for an ax to swing down on him. "Noibat probably wasn't treated very kindly by his colony for his size," the professor explained after getting a look at Noibats face. "He probably ate as much as twice what a Noibat his age should, making finding food hard. Not to mention he most likely wasn't very grateful and caused his fair share of crashes."

Ash instantly flashed back to Noibat dropping from the ceiling and grappling his way through the other Noibat. Looking back on it there wasn't a lot of room in the cavern for a flying type his size to learn to fly very well, especially with all the other Noibat and Zubat fluttering around. And all of the Noibat flying throughout the day had either been stationary or very wobbly.

"Noi," Noibat asked hesitantly as it looked up at its trainer.

"I don't mind," Ash quickly reassured him. "You're just gonna need some extra flying practice."

"Noi!" The little dragon squealed as he hugged Ash happily, one the boy gladly returned.

"Aww. My baby has his own babies now!"

"Mom!"

Deila swung her head back and laughed hard while Oak chuckled good naturally besides her. "I'm sorry sweetie," a still amused Deila told her blushing son as she got herself under control. "I couldn't help it. All joking aside, I'm very proud of you, you're shaping up to be a kind and understanding trainer."

"Thanks mom," Ash said as his mother gazed lovely at him though the camera.

"It's time we get back to work," Professor Oak said after giving the mother and son their moment. "Call us tomorrow to update us on Rowlet."

"Will do," Ash reassured them.

"Goodbye Ash."

"Bye honey!"

Once the call disconnected, Ash quickly dialed Lance's number. "He's gonna get a kick out of you," Ash muttered to Noibat almost smugly as the phone rang.

Lance picked up on the last ring looking haggard and exhausted. Ash could make out what he recognized as the Champions office in the background. It was pretty clear to Ash the man had done an all-nighter doing paperwork again.

"Hey!" Lance exclaimed as he caught sight of Ash, not letting his exhaustion affect his mood.

"How's Alol...Is that a Noibat!"

"Yeah," Ash laughed as Lance leaned forward, all signs of his fatigue suddenly gone. "Professor Oak has already told me how big he is for his age."

"He's not even close to evolving," Lance muttered almost to himself as he studied the dragon in Ash's lap. "His purple coloring is still way too light. His eyebrows and claws aren't showing any red tones. Plus the ears and claws are much too small." After looking over Noibat for a few more minutes while the dragon regarded the Dragon Master with just as much curiosity Lance finally looked back at Ash. "What the hell."

Ash threw back his head and laughed hard.

"Where did you find him?" Lance asked as Ash started to settle down. "I think I need to pay that place a visit."

"Verdant Cavern. He was the only one this size though," Ash answered with a calm voice but his eyes still betrayed his mirth.

Lance made a disappointed noise as he leaned his head into his fist looking like his fatigue was starting to settle back in now that the shock had worn off. "What moves does he know so far?" "Tackle, Supersonic, Screech, Absorb and Gust. He hasn't mastered any of them yet. And his flying is pretty shaky. I think it's because of someone his size being cooped up in that cavern hes never had much room to practice and when he did he probably made the other Pokemon mad."

"Most likely," Lance agreed.

"Tomorrow will be a training day so he can get use to using his moves out in the open. I also plan on having him fly above me anytime I'm traveling."

"Good strategy. He has a good foundation and perfecting it shouldn't take long. It'll help if you find enough flying type for him to run drills with and have mock aerial battles."

"I already have," Ash answered.

"Oh?"

"Rowlet, a flying and grass type, one of the starters here in Alola. He was definitely abandoned by a former trainer and will need some time to recover. He should be released tomorrow but I'm not sure how long it will be till he can train again. Luckily I have Rayna and Aura so he opened up to me pretty quickly."

"Why do things like this always happen in places I don't have jurisdiction?" Lance asked darkly.

"Because you cracked down so hard on Pokemon abandonment in Indigo everyone is to scared shitless to even think out it."

"Language." Both Ash and Lance knew the warning had no threat behind it; it was more of a formality for Deilas sake. As long as Ash wasn't sprouting a curse in every sentence or dropping 'F' bombs Lance didn't really care anymore since Ash's 13th birthday. Especially when they were talking about Pokemon abandonment.

"Point still stands," Ash said with a shrug.

Lance gave Ash a small smile before continuing. "I'm sure you're going to take great care of Rowlet but if you ever need advice on how to handle him I'm just a call away. Steven is especially pretty good with handling these cases so don't be afraid to give him a call."

Lance had been bugging Ash to call Steven for years but he was too awkward to video call the man he'd never met in person before. Send thank you texts for all the cool gifts Ash could do. Calling to ask for advice or just chat wasn't so easy but for Rowlet's sake Ash would suck it up if the Grass Quill Pokemon didn't show emotional or mental improvement in the next few days.

"Back to Noibat," Lance said interrupting Ash from his thoughts. "He should grow another foot, foot and a half, before he evolves. When he does he's going to massive. Most Noivern are just slightly too small to carry their trainers but your shouldn't have any problems. He's also gonna be a giant target in the air then so I'd get to work on speed and agility early. Noivern are fast but nowhere near the fastest dragons or flying type out there but yours can be with the right training if you start now."

"Thanks for the advice," Ash said as he calculated what Lance told him into the training he had planned for Noibat.

"Soooo," Lance said in tone of voice that was way too happy to mean anything good. "Meet any cute girls?"

Ash's first instinct was to deny such an idea right away but felt himself holding back as he looked back on his day. This was his first time out of Pallet in his whole life and his first time meeting girls his age he hadn't grown up with after all. How was he supposed to know if someone had caught his eye or not?

Lana had something about her that reminded Ash automatically of what he thought a big sister would be like. There was this calm and teasing vibe to her that just screamed reflecting on how Mallow had drug him all over the place today Ash put her in the same category as Lana. Her over-excitement about everything made her endearing, but there was nothing about her that caught Ash's attention in a way other than friendly.

Lillie on the other hand...even though she was afraid to touch Pokemon she was the only one who could keep up with Ash today in terms of knowledge about them. There was also this sense of mystery and a hidden deepness that drew him in. Behind those emerald eyes was a concealed intelligence that wasn't just book smart. And those eyes! Ash had never really paid attention to eyes before but he couldn't help but think hers were beautiful. Lille was also just, well, pretty. It also wasn't the fancy hair and clothes that made Ash think that. It was her shiny hair, soft looking skin and infectious smile. And she had the cutest little nose. Put that all together with her kind and caring personality…

"There is isn't there!"

"Shut up!" Ash hissed as his face flushed red.

Lance chuckled and shook his head. "You're growing up so fast," the man said sounding almost sad. "Please no serious girlfriend until you're 16 at least, I'm not sure your mom and I can handle it."

"Promise," Ash mumble disgruntled.

"You should go get some rest, you've had a long day."

Ash mummed in agreement. He already felt ready to fall asleep and he still had a few more things to do.

"Update you tomorrow?" Ash asked.

"Please. Night Ash."

Ash bid his own goodbyes before hanging up. Talking to Lance had given him some good insights on how to go about Noibats training. Ash wanted to work on the flying side of Noibats type while he was still a Noibat and could easily learn speed and maneuverability. His dragon side and power could come later after he evolved.

"I'm going to return you now and let you out later when we get back to Rowlets room," Ash told the dragon in his lap as he pulled Noibat's Pokeball off his belt.

"Noi?" Noibat trilled as he tilted his head confused.

"I'm gonna call my rival. Don't wanna let him know what Pokemon I got until I battle him do I?" Ash said with a teasing smile.

"Noi!" Noibat shook his head frantically before reaching to press the button on his Pokeball to return himself.

Ash chuckled and shook his head at Noibat's antics as he dialed Gary's number. Gary was just making his way into Viridian Forest and had four new Pokemon. He wasn't saying what Pokemon he caught but neither was Ash, they could find out when they battled each other. Gary had met up with Karen in Viridian City, the Elite-Four trainee assigned to protect him. Apparently Karen's dark brand of humor complimented Gary's hyperbolic one perfectly. Ash could hear her in the background, quips rolling off her tongue like water that Gary always had a seamless comeback to. In the end the boys had promised to update each other when either Gary battled Brock or Ash left Alola, whichever came first.

After Ash hung up with Gary he left his room heading to Rowlet's, making a quick stop at the cafeteria to grab the berries he had promised the hurt Pokemon. Rowlet was sleeping when Ash quietly stepped into the room but Rayna was awake. The small fighting type let of a small bark of welcome but didn't move from her place besides Rowlet. Ash pulled up a chair besides Rowlets bed and decided to let the owl like Pokemon get a little extra rest while he browsed for possible nicknames on the web. There were a few that caught the boys attention including Twilight, Elvan, Silver, Malcom and a few more. Ash then started looking for ideas for Noibat in case he also wanted a nickname and found the perfect one almost immediately. Feeling happy with his selections, Ash released Noibat.

The sound of Noibat's release started Rowlet, awake but the Grass Quill Pokemon soon calmed down as he recognized his surroundings and the people around him.

"Rrrr," Rowlet trilled happily as he reached for his trainer. Ash gladly obliged by picking up the Pokemon and taking his place in the middle of the bed. The boy couldn't help the giant smile that spread across his face as his Pokemon snuggled him. Rowlet hopping into his lap, Rayna and Noibat on either side of him.

"As I said earlier we're gonna go though some possible nicknames tonight. I'm sorry I haven't asked earlier Noibat but would you like one?"

"Noi!" the dragon squeaked excitedly as he nodded his head.

"I think I already found the perfect one for you, what do you think about Ziggy?"

"Oi," Noibat cried gleefully as he accepted the proposed name.

"Ziggy it is," Ash chuckled as he scrolled to the top of potential names he'd written down on his Pokenav for Rowlet.

"Alright Rowlet what do think about Elvan?"

"Rrr'" Rowlet warbled in discontentment.

"Twilight?"

"Row," came the unhappy answer.

"Silver?"

Just a head shake this time. The pattern of dejection continued to any name suggested for new next ten minutes and Ash was starting to run out of names. The boy had gotten near the end of his list and honestly didn't think any of these last ones were anything special.

"What about Fletcher?" Ash asked with an exhausted sigh. "It means maker of arrows or feather arrow. I thought it could be a play on your final evolutions signature move."

"Rrr!" Rowlet cooed happily as he made the intimidation of firing an arrow with his wings.

"You wanna learn that move?" Ash asked with a slight tilt of his head. Rowlet nodded happily.

"It's called Spirit Shackle right?" Ash inquired absentmindedly as he flipped though his Pokedex to confirm his theory. Sure enough the Rowlet's final evolution Decidueye learned a ghost type move that only it could learn of the same name. The move fired ghost type energy like an arrow at the target that dealt a good deal of damage while stitching the targets shadow to the ground so it couldn't be switched out. Ash had no idea how that worked but wasn't going to question it now.

"Well if that's your dream I wouldn't stop until I help you realize it," Ash told Rowlet firmly.

Rowlet hooted happily while snuggling closer to his new trainer. Ash made note of Rowlet's overly affectionate behavior, it wasn't normal for a Pokemon freshly caught to be acting like this. Rayna had trusted him so quickly because of the strong connection they had though Aura and because she was his starter. Ziggy trusted Ash to a point but had not built any love or affection towards him yet, that would take time. Ziggy had only been with him for half a day after all.

While Ash had connected with Rowlet though Aura it was nowhere on the same levels it had been with Rayna. The exercise was meant to show Rowlet that he was trustworthy and deserved a chance. Ash had gotten Rowlets trust but also such a heaping amount of love and affection it was frankly unhealthy aimed at someone you had only known a few hours. Even for a Pokemon.

Of course the source was whatever trauma and abuse Rowlet had suffered in the past and as much as Ash wanted he couldn't go back in time and change it, only help the Pokemon now. The question was how? Did he let Rowlet latch on to him like he was or try to keep a little distance? Rowlet would have to learn some independence eventually, Ash would need to leave him alone at times like earlier today. Would he be able to if Ash let him keep acting like this? Would the behavior continue or would it ease off over time on its own? Ash decided to let things be for a few days as Rowlet settled into the team and then address the behavior if it continued.

"So Fletcher it is?" Ash asked the Pokemon in his lap.

Fletcher nodded looking absolutely delighted.

Ash felt himself relax slightly now that a nickname had finally been picked for the fussy creature.

"Time for lights out guys," Ash said as he scooted down in the bed silently bemoaning that the lights in the hospital room could be dimmed but not turned off the whole way. The boys Pokemon all gave signs of agreement as they too got comfortable around their trainer. Ash waited until he was sure his Pokemon were all asleep before letting himself drift off.

Peeking into the room where the boy and his Pokemon slept from just outside the window was a small pink floating feline Pokemon. She gave a happy giggling squeal before darting off into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Ash laughed joyfully as he watched Ziggy practice his flying maneuver the next day from the rocks he was reclining on. Ash had set up a small obstacle course on the edge of route two near Hau'Oil City where he was fishing for Ziggy to practice on. The little dragon had to fly up to a marked point, fly steadily at that height before coming back down once reaching another marked point, fly steady at the lower height, then go back up again. The point was for Ziggy to build confidence in his flying and strengthen his wings. So far the Sound Wave Pokemon was struggling with maintaining the same height and getting tired quickly.

Rayna was a few feet away from Ash practicing Focus Palm. She was making a lot of progress and was determined to be able to use the move instantaneously by the end of the day. She also got to battle any water type Ash fished up.

Fletcher was dozing in the new string pack Ash had bought him. Nurse Joy had given him the all clear to leave this morning much his trainers delight. The Officer Jenny that had interviewed Ash that morning told him she had a good idea who Fletchers former trainer was and that she would handle it from there. Taking into account Fletchers age it was pretty easy to find the group of trainers he was given out with, then it was just identifying the trainer that had picked a Rowlet. As much as Ash would like to track down Fletchers former trainer himself he knew his time was best served taking care of the Rowlet. Besides, there was quite a lot more Ash wanted to get done in his limited time left in Alola.

The little grass and flying type would still need another two or three weeks to be cleared for training so Ash knew he couldn't count on Fletcher being battle ready by the time he reached Pewter City. Fletcher's grass type moves would have been a huge help but Ash would have to make do without for this battle. Ash would definitely be using Rayna in his battle against Brock though, her fighting types moves would do a good deal of damage plus her resistant to rock type moves. Ash was sure he could come up with a strategy for Ziggy if he had to but would prefer catching another Pokemon better suited.

Ash almost facepalmed when he realized he still hadn't scanned Fletcher with his pokedex as he opened up a new document on his pokenav to make a training plan for the Pokemon. The trainer quickly pulled out the device and scanned the dozing creature next to him.

" _Rowlet, The Grass Quill Pokemon. Rowlet is a flying and grass type. It feels relaxed in tight, dark places and has been known to use it's Trainer's pocket or bag as a nest. This Rowlet it male and has the ability Overgrow. This Rowlet knows the moves Tackle, Leafage, Growl and Peck. It's egg move Confuse Ray has not been unlocked yet."_

Ash silently bemoaned that he couldn't use Fletcher in battle with Brock. Flatchers moves gave him coverage all over the field and his ability could make or break a lot of battles, Ash would have to remember not to rely on it to heavily. Other than coming up with some combos there wasn't much Ash could do at the moment without being able to access Fletcher.

Ash looked up when he heard a happy shout from Rayna just in time to catch the fading flash of a perfectly executed Force Palm. Ash only had time to blink in surprise before he got an arm full of celebrating Riolu.

"You did it!" Ash cheered as Ziggy flew down to celebrate with them offering his own congratulating chirp.

Just then the fishing rod in Ash hand gave a jerk, signing that something was caught on the other side of the line. Ash grabbed on with both hands and starting to reel the line in slowly, wary of the Pokemon he caught getting loose. Twenty seconds later a Pokemon broke the surface of the water, revealing itself to be a Finneon. The black, purple and blue fish like creature flailed angrily in the water, its butterfly wing like tail sending water everywhere.

"You're up Rayna! Force Palm!"

Rayna took a running jump towards the water aiming at the Finneon with a glowing fist. Before the Fighting Type could land her attack though the Finneon dived under the water, avoiding Rayna completely. Rayna seeing that she would be unable to land her move instead used her charged Force Palm on the surface of the water, using the momentum to send her flying back towards the shore where she landed gracefully next to Ash.

Ash waited with baited breath to see if the Finneon would resurface to finish the battle but was out of luck, the water type didn't appear again.

"Well it looks like you got Force Palm down at least," Ash told his starter as he reloaded his fishing line and cast it back out into the water. "Why don't you take a break and Ziggy have a turn battling."

Over the next hour Ash fished up an annoying amount of Tentacool and had to use four antidotes on Ziggy to cure him of poison. Finally Ash called a break from fishing to eat lunch and let the dragon have a break. Ash poured out food for his Pokemon first before unwrapping his own sandwich and settling down. While his Pokemon had made some breakthroughs fishing had been nothing but aggravating. Tentacool after Tentacool had been pulled out of the water the pattern only broken occasionally by the rare Finnion that usually didn't stick around to battle. The Remoraid Ash had been hoping to catch for Ella had not made an appearance, he might have to look for something else at Booklet Hill tomorrow.

Ash was disrupted from his meal by a high pitched cry coming from the water. The boy looked down from his boulder to see a oval like blue Pokemon with red marking on its back peering up at him from the sea with curious black eyes. Ash vaguely recognized the sea creature, it had come up in his search for water types but he had quickly ruled it without looking into it because of its obvious inability to maneuver on land. Curious, Ash lifted his pokedex to scan his visitor.

" _Mantyke, the kite Pokemon. Mantyke is a water and flying type. Mantyke are friendly towards people and will approach boats closely. The patterns on their backs differ depending on their habitat."_

"Mannn," the now identified Mantyke cooed as it swimmed closer, brushing itself up against the rocks. It watched Ash closely before moving its eyes to the food in the boys hands and letting out another cry.

"Are you hungry? I got some extra food if you want some," Ash said as he turned to his bag to dig out a canister of water type food. As Ash was digging through his bag he didn't see his Pokemon tense up or notice the large shadow looming over him that wasn't there a few seconds ago.

"Got it! How much do yo…." Ash trailed off when he turned to find Mantyke not in the water where he had last seen it a few seconds ago but floating right behind him.

" _This Mantyke has the ability Levitate,"_ Ash's still open Pokedex chirped unhelpfully from his lap.

"You don't say," Ash whispered to himself before quickly shaking his shock off and offering the flying type the promised food. Mantyke happily gobbled its fill right from the trainers hand before it gave the boy an affectionate rub and went to meet his Pokemon. Ash picked his Pokedex back up to take a more thorough look at Mantyke page seeing as this special creature met his biggest criteria of being able to battle on land. A few minutes later Ash tucked the device back into his pack pleased with what he found. Not only did the Kite Pokemon have great potential to be a defensive powerhouse and deal a lot a high damaging moves but it's extremely friendly personality would be a great fit for Ella to help balance out her uncooperative Pikachu.

"Mantyke," Ash said to get the attention of the Pokemon that was currently floating circles around Fletcher. "Do you like to battle?"

The previously carfree creature turned fierce. Mantyke's eyes narrowed and it month formed a smirk. It let out a challenging cry after zeroing its eyes in on Ziggy, singling out the other flying type. The now rested and fed Pokemon responded to the summons by taking to the air raring to go.

"Alright then," Ash said with a competitive smile and he stood. "The challenger can have the first move."

Mantyke didn't waste any time in sending a strong speedy Bubble Beam Ziggy's way. The small dragon yelped as it dived out of the way of the attack before having to hastily struggle to correct its flying. As Ziggy was frantically trying to straighten out Mantyke took the opportunity to fire another Bubble Beam that hit Ziggy hard in the joint of his left wing sending the dragon wheeling to the ground. Seeing no way to stop Ziggy's fall Ash called out an attack hoping to at least slow Mantyke down.

"Supersonic!"

The next time Ziggy spun around it aimed its attack at Mantyke only to miss the water type completely an instant to late as it dived under the water. A second later Ziggy crashed painfully onto the ground back first.

Ziggy struggled painfully back onto his feet as the water type resurfaced, levitating itself a few feet above the water.

"Can you fly?" Ash asked worriedly. Ziggy gave an angry cry before throwing itself back into the sky although more wobbly than usual.

"Stay low," Ash commanded as he studied his opponent. It seemed Mantyke liked to fight from a distance but if Ash's plan was going to work he would have to lure it in somehow.

"Tackle! Be prepared for it to retaliate."

Ziggy took off towards Mantyke at the highest speed it could muster, sadly nowhere near fast enough in Ash's mind seeing how he could still clearly make out the form of his Pokemon. Predictively Mantyke fired another Bubble Beam as Ziggy approached, aiming for the same spot it had hit before.

"Stop flying and keep going!"

Slightly bewildered Ziggy followed instructions, letting his wings drop to his side and falling about a half foot to the earth feet first leaning forward. Using the momentum he already had going Ziggy ran the the last bit of stretch of land that was left before throwing himself into the air and tackling the flying type that was floating just beyond the rocks.

"Latch on!" Ash called frantically. "Don't let go and use Absorb!"

Ziggy grabbed hold of one of Mantyke large blue antennas as his opponent righted itself. Ziggy's tackle hadn't done to much damage seeing as though both Pokemon were about the same size Mantyke weighed a little more than one hundred pounds than Ziggy did.

Both Mantyke and Ziggy were suddenly surrounded by a soft green glow as the Sound Wave Pokemon sucked energy and health from the water type. Mantyke, quickly tiring, made a desperate dive towards the ocean taking Ziggy with it.

"Let go and use Supersonic!"

Ziggy released his hold on Mantyke and spread his wings, catching the up draft his opponent was creating in its downward dive. Now not having to worry about being dragged into the water Ziggy took the opening to let off one of the most high powered Supersonics he had ever produced, Mantyke could do nothing but take the attack in the few seconds left it needed to reach the ocean. The Sound Wave Pokemon landed shakily as he and his trainer waited impatiently for Mantyke to resurface, both holding their breaths. When the water type finally did appear it looked clearly disoriented, knocking itself into the shoreline and rocking back and forth.

"Tackle then Absorb," Ash ordered calmly sensing victory within his grasp.

Ziggy took to the air again aiming at Mantyke, easily dodging the lopsided Bubble sent his way. Ziggy once again grabbed hold of one of Mantyke's antennas after giving it a hardy knock and used Absorb. Mantyke once again tried to dive under the water but only succeeded in bangng its head against a rock.

As Ash watched Ziggy finish up the battle he fished out an empty Pokeball form his pocket. He had planned to ask Mantyke first if it might want to join Ella's team before capturing it but after seeing it fight he was more than happy to have it on his team if it didn't want Ella for a trainer. It had agreed to Ash's challenge so the boy felt no qualms about catching it for himself.

Mantyke thrashing was starting to slow as Ziggy drained more and more energy from his opponent until finally Mantyke stopped moving, no longer having the vigor to go on.

Ash was having a hard time controlling his boyish energy as he threw the Pokeball with practiced accuracy towards Mantyke, hitting the middle of its back. The capture device sucked the half unconscious creature inside it before landing in the water where it shook a few times weakly on the surface before giving a rather final computerized ding.

Ash smiled wide as he watched Ziggy gather up the now full Pokemon and fly it back to him, dropping the ball in his trainers waiting hands.

"You were amazing Ziggy," Ash complemented as the little dragon latched into his back like he were getting a piggyback ride. The teen noticed with concern that the Pokemon was avoiding putting any pressure or weight on his left wing. If aborb hadn't fixed it it meant something was out of place, either a broken or displaced done, hopefully the latter.

"Let's pack up guys, time to make another trip to the Pokemon Center."

Ash tiredly stretched his arms up the next morning while trying to unsuccessfully hold back a yawn as he and Kukie waited outside the professor's house for Kiawe to pick him up. Ash was used to getting up early by 4:30 AM was still an ungodly time even for him.

Ash wasn't looking forward to another long day of fishing after his aggravating attempt at it yesterday though he was happy that there was no chance of fishing up any more Tentacool where he was going, just a ridiculous amount of Magikarp. While Ash was sure that by the time he found a Feebas he would never want to see another Magikarp again at least they couldn't poison his Pokemon.

Feebas, Ash reminded himself with a tired sigh, was a rare Pokemon no matter what region you traveled to and was going to take quite a bit of effort and patience to find. The thought of how many Pokemon he could find and catch in the amount of time it was going to take to find this one was disheartening but the pay out of having the alluring almost mythical powerhouse Milotic on his team was worth it. Ash was especially motivated by the fact that the Mantyke he just caught had been transferred to Oak Ranch last night and quickly bonding with Ella. If Mantyke and Ella hadn't gotten along Ash was going to keep and raise the Kite Pokemon himself but seeing how well the two were hitting it off...Ash needed to find another water type, preferably a Feebas.

"I think that's your ride," Kukie mumbled sleepily from where he was leaning against the house as he looked out towards the ocean, steaming coffee mug in hand.

Sure enough Ash also caught sight of the approaching figure in the distance and perked up slightly. Lance had been quick to foster a love for riding flying types in Ash as soon as he could walk much to the horror of his mother. Riding a Charizard was nothing novel to him but it never grew old and would certainly be a good way to rid himself of the last bits of lingering sleep.

It only took another three minutes for the Charizard to land in a plume of sand from when it first appeared on the horizon. Kiawe sat comfortably on the fire types back in a saddle looking as contently stoic as ever.

"Ready to go?" the older boy asked, not bothering to disembark his mount.

"As I'll ever be," Ash answered as he stepped forward. The younger trainer briefly stopped by the head of the mighty flying type to greet it with a smile and a few poke beans he had bought in town yesterday. The Pokemon huffed happily as he ate out of Ash's hand before gently pushing the trainer with it's large head toward the saddle. Kiawe helped Ash the smaller boy up the back of the sizeable Pokemon with a hand and got him seated behind him safely.

"I'll see you boys later," Kukie called as he stepped back into the house to get some work done, make the most of the early morning. Both trainers waved back as Charizard turned around back toward the ocean and spread its wings in preparation to take off.

"We're headed to Brooklet hill today right?" Kiawe asked.

"Yep."

"That's only the next island over and near the coast closest to us, not to far of a flight. You holding on tight?"

"Yeah," Ash answered as he grabbed the handles either side on him meant for passengers. The boy felt his excitement building the closer they came to take off.

"Then here we go!" Charizard gave a mighty flap of his wings and suddenly the small group was in the air, Melemele Island fading into the distance.

"You wanna battle?"

Ash glanced up from where he had been bordley studying the surrounding pond to to find a college age backpacker watching him expectantly. The woman already had a Pokeball in one hand and was attempting to tie back her messy blonde hair with the other. Ziggy and Rayna stopped their training and made their way to their trainers side while Fletcher continued to doze on in his pack.

"Sure, just give me a minute to pack up. I'm Ash by the way," the boy answered as he reeled his fishing line in. The commotion of a battle would most definitely scare off any Feebas in the surrounding area if there was any for a good while. Ash hadn't any luck so far in this spot and was considering moving on to the next anyways. Besides, who was he to say no to the chance to win some desperately needed spending money. Ash needed another thousand before he could even think about challenging a gym once he got home, not to mention it was never a bad idea to start saving for TM's.

"My names Mikiko, nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Ready?" Ash asked as he zipped up his backpack.

"Always. One on one good?"

"Yep."

"Alright! Go Fletchling!" Mikiko shouted as she threw her Pokeball, releasing a small flying type into the air.

The Pokemon tweeted happily as it landed on a nearby tree, focusing in on Rayna and Ziggy.

" _Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokemon,"_ Ash's Pokedex read as he pointed it towards his opponent. _"A flying and normal type. While it's an amiable Pokemon, if you touch it unexpectedly, it will heat up it's body in an instant, and you'll be burned."_ The part about being burned made Ash pause, the Pokemon wasn't a fire type but could still generate an abnormal amount of body heat.

'It must gain the fire typing somewhere down it's evolutionary line. I should assume that it can use fire type attacks,' Ash considered as he sized the creature up. It looked like a good flyer, the perfect opponent for Ziggy to test his flying training on.

"Your up Ziggy!" Ash exclaimed as he pointed towards Fletchling. Ash's tiny dragon gave a supposedly mighty cry before taking to the sky, leveling out at Fletchling height across the greenspace.

"I'll start us off," Mikiko said. "Quick Attack!"

"Fletch!" The normal type called as it zipped forward, speeding directly at Ziggy.

"Blow it away with Gust!" Ziggy quickly flapped his wings sending a powerful gust of wind at his opponent. Fletchling squinted it's eyes against the gale and braved the blow, fighting though the winds towards its adversary. The Gust did significantly slow Fletching down but couldn't stop the hit, managing to only turn Fletchings high powered Quick Attack into a weak Tackle. Ziggy grunted when Fletchling slammed into his chest but endured the blow from the must smaller and frailer Pokemon easily.

"Grab on and us Absorb!" Ziggy managed to snag the smaller Pokemon by the ankle as it tried to get away before throwing all his weight onto Fletchling and started to use absorb as the duo began to fall towards the ground.

"Flail!" Mikiko called quickly, not missing a beat.

Ziggy struggled to keep ahold of his opponent as Fletchling started to thrash in his hold, the smaller Pokemon headbutting, kicking and scratching its captors body wherever it could. Sadly for Fletchling Ziggy had a good hold and healed any damage Fletchling managed to do with Absorb. The normal type was only managing to tire itself out faster as the two battling Pokemon sped towards the ground.

Ash carefully observed the two contending Pokemon as they neared the earth, he needed to tell Ziggy to let go at the exact moment he could avoid a crash while making the opposite true for Fletchling. Ash also mentally made note that his adversary must not have the fire attack in her arsenal he had feared before or else she would have used it by now to get her Pokemon free.

"Let go and use Supersonic!" Ash commanded, throwing the extra attack in there for good measure.

Ziggy shoved Fletchling away from himself as he spread his wings and soared upward, firing off a Supersonic as he made his escape. Fletchling tried to do the same but couldn't twist its body frontwards in time to complete the maneuver before it crashed into the ground hard just as supersonic hit, steadily hitting the grounded Pokemon for a good twenty seconds.

"Can you still go on?" Mikiko called anxiously.

Ash was surprised as the small bird somehow struggled to its feet with a determined cry, eager to continue battling. The boy had to give the little creature props for its tenacity.

"Alright! Use Agility then Quick Attack!" Mikiko ordered exuberantly while dramatically pumping her fist in the air.

Fletchling took to the air and speed off at amazing speed...Only to crash head first into a tree in the opposite direction of its target.

Ash and his Pokemon all sweatdropped simultaneously.

"You win," Mikiko sighed as she returned Fletchling.

"We did it!" Ash cheered as he caught Ziggy out of the air and spun the delighted Pokemon around. Ash felt like he was soaring. He just won a trainers battle for the first time!

"Thanks for the great battle," Mikiko said as she walked over to shack Ash's hand.

"Yeah," Ash agreed as he returned the gesture. "I really enjoyed it."

"I'll be in Alola until next Friday and would love to have a rematch before I leave. I hope to catch another Pokemon by then."

"What island are you staying on?" Ash asked as he considered the offer. "I'm lodging on Melemele and don't think I will be coming back to Akala if I caught the Pokemon I'm looking for today."

"I get into Melemele Tuesday afternoon and will be there until I leave."

"Tuesday is a good day for me. Meet at the east Hau'oil Pokemon Center at 6?"

"Sounds good to me," Mikiko replied happily as she turned to walk away. "See you then. Bye Ash!"

"Bye!" Ash called while he waved, his Pokemon all calling out their own farwells with him.

Ash exhaled when Mikiko vanished around the bend and turned to his companions. "Let's go find a new fishing spot."

"I hate fishing!" Ash moaned six hours later as he laid his head in his arms that were folded on the table in front on him.

"Not surprising after the day you've had," Professor Kukie said with as laugh as he laid a plate laden with food in front of his temporary charge.

"Thank you," Ash managed to get out before he quickly dug into his food with gusto.

"The food's not going anywhere and there's plenty more," Kukie said cautiously as he watched the boy shovel food into his mouth.

"I know," Ash said with an innocent tilt of his head honestly confused at what the professor was getting at.

"Well then don't let me interrupt your meal."

Ash easily finished first and was content to sit back and relaxed as he waited for the others to complete their meals. While Ash hadn't managed to catch a Feebas he had reeled two of them up. Both had decided to dive back under the water rather than battle him. He could try to lure one close with food and then use a great or ultra ball he could now afford to capture it but that left a bad taste in his mouth. Besides, if the Pokemon didn't want to battle in the wild there was little chance if none that it would want to battle beside a trainer. When Ash hadn't been fishing he had been spending his time battling other trainers in the area, mostly fisherman with entire teams full of Magikarp. There had been a few interesting battles thrown in the mix but his fight with Mikiko had been by far the most exciting which wasn't saying much. While the constant stream of fish that could barely battle had been annoying the $3500 added to his bank account was a needed highlight.

Ash let his gaze drift to his Pokemon that were currently chowing down on their dinner as he proudly thought back to their accomplishments that day. Rayna was so close to mastering the Blinding Rush combo. She had the movement down, now she just needed to perform it slightly faster for Ash to feel satisfied. If Fletcher wasn't sleeping in his pack he was attached to Ash in some way. The Grass Quill Pokemon was always on Ash's shoulder, his head or snuggled in the boys lap. While Ash found Fletcher adorable he worried about his newest Pokemon becoming attached to him in an unhealthy way that the grass type was already starting to show. Affection is good, but so is space. Fletcher needed to learn how to function without Ash holding his hand constantly. But how much of the over devotion was Fletcher dealing with the trauma he had been through? When did Ash start setting boundaries to better Fletcher down the road without hurting his recovery now? The trainer came to the conclusion that he would take Lance's advice and call Steven. He had no idea what time zone his pseudo uncle was in so he'd just give him a ring before bed. It was a day earlier than the time frame he'd set but he didn't see Fletcher easing up in the next 24 hours so might as well just bite the bullet. Ziggy had done most of the battling at Brooklet Hill. He was close to perfecting the moves he already knew and Ash was going to have to decide in the next few days what new attack he wanted to teach Ziggy. The dragon and flying type was getting a better hang of flying but still nowhere near where Ash wanted him to be. Ziggy was improving slightly faster than Ash thought he would though and it seemed like they had come up with a with a good combo to make up for the speed problem in the meantime. At least twice now Ash had Ziggy grab onto his opponent and use Absorb as they fell towards the ground, only to let go at the last possible second followed by Supersonic to make sure their adversary stayed down. It worked well on Pokemon that were faster than Ziggy. It's devastating. A Ziggy grew and learned new moves the combo had some many possibilities. It needed a name.

"Confusion Bell," Ash said out loud. Ash went on to explain his thinking to the others around him once catching their confused looks.

"It has merit," Kukie offered with a considering look. "Later down the road as Ziggy grows stronger you can come up with similar names to throw off your opponents. Burning Confusion Bell could be Mega Drain and Flamethrower instead of Absorb and Supersonic. You even have attacks now that will work such as Gust."

"That's what I was thinking," Ash agreed with knod. "Ziggy?"

Ziggy agreed with a confirmative squeak. For once he had hope competing against the much faster flying types that he had always lost to before in the wild. Just look at how easy he had taken down Fletchling.

"Cool," Ash replied satisfied as his gaze once again drifted to a now napping Fletcher. "Do you mind hanging out here for a little while Ziggy? I gotta make a phone call."

Ash padded barefoot down the beach with Rayna on his shoulder. While Fletcher could hardly be blamed for his need for physical comfort it sadly meant that the last two days Rayna had been pushed to the side, a fact that made Ash's heart ache. But his little trooper of a starter hadn't complained once, instead focusing on her training and being a supportive teammate. If after two days of almost no physical contact Rayna seemed to nuzzle a little closer than before Ash didn't comment on it. He did promise himself that he would put aside time like this more often for Rayna, especially since they were still getting to know each other. She was his starter and they would be constantly at each others side for the rest of their lives, that was not a bond one should neglect.

"I should probably make that call soon?" Ash huffed tiredly.

"Ri," Rayna affirmed with a nod.

Ash found a log under a street lamp to settle upon and pulled out his pokenav. Fletchers full Pokeball felt heavier on his belt as he skimmed through his contacts until he found Steven. Taking a deep breath Ash pressed the call button.

"Hello," came the tired response after a few rings. The voice on the other end sounded exhausted.

"Ah, hey, it Ash." The boy answered awkwardly. "I can call back later if this isn't a good time."

"Oh! Ash! Now's fine, I just got into Kanto so I'm a bit jet lagged. It's wonderful to finally be able to meet, eh, talk to you. Lance told me you might be calling, something about taking in an abused Pokemon?"

Set at ease by Stevens soothing voice Ash launched into the story of how he had acquired Fletcher, the Pokemons behavior the last few days and his concerns.

"Fletchers behavior is normal for a Pokemon in his situation," Steven said after taking a moment to think. "He's going to latch onto people he deems trustworthy seeking assurance that they're not going anywhere. It's something most Pokemon grow out of with time. But one the other hand your concerns of him becoming overly attached and dependent are valid. Fletcher insecurities could even lead to him attempting to control you or developing separation anxiety. The best solution I find in this situation is to give the Pokemon all the affection and care they seek but make sure it's not all coming from you. The people around you and especially the rest of your team should be just as involved. You mentioned that Fletcher had a resource dispute with your Noibat when you first caught him?"

"Yeah, they aren't fighting anyone more but they only tolerate the others presence when they're not flat out ignoring the other."

"You need to fix that as quickly as possible. I suggest since this started with food fix it with food. Making pokeblock or poffins with them would a fun bonding exercise that involves them getting lots of treats. Make sure they both get the same amount and are completely full before you stop, if they eat so much they get sick then so be it. They probably don't even know that's possible. It'll be a learning experience and once again reinforce the idea that competition for resources isn't an issue anymore."

'I could fit in a little pokeblock making tonight' Ash mused.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Steven asked.

Ash was a bit caught off guard by the question but answered promptly anyway. "I'm heading up a mountain to try to catch an ice type I've set my sights on."

"Hmm, not a great environment for a grass type. Do you think your Riolu will be enough to catch the Pokemon you're after?" Steven asked.

"She should be."

"Then I suggest leaving Fletcher and Noibat behind with someone you trust. As long as Fletcher is confident that you will be coming back he should be okay for a few hours. Hopefully he will open up to whoever you leave them with, maybe even Noibat if you're lucky."

"I'm sure Professor Kukui wouldn't mind them hanging out with him tomorrow. We're staying with him so Fletcher already knows the house and I'm leaving stuff there I have to come back to get."

"Perfect. Any other questions?"

"Nope. I think that's all for now, thanks for all the help."

"It's not a problem. I'll be of more help when I see you and Fletcher in person once you get to Pewter."

"Pewter?"

"Yes, I'm going to be working at Pewter Museum and Mt. Moon until you get here. I'll spend a few days training with Gary once he reaches Pewter and I'll be traveling with you to Cerulean City. If I've heard correctly at the pace your going you'll only be traveling with Will from Pallet to Viridian. I think the plan is for you to spend a day or two extra in Viridian until Riley can meet you there instead of trying to track you down in the mess that is Viridian Forest."

"I didn't know that. Do you know how far Gary's gotten?"

"I think he's training in Viridian."

"Ah," Ash mused. He had expected the other boy to rush but was glad Gary seemed to be taking his time to train properly.

"I think I should start heading back to the house," Ash said. "Thanks for the advice and all the cool stuff you've sent over the years!"

"It was my pleasure," Steven answered with a chuckle. "Call me if you need any more advice, it doesn't have to be about Fletcher either."

"Okay, night Steven."

"Goodnight Ash."

Ash clipped his pokenav back onto his belt before standing. Rayna jumped down off her trainer so he could roll and stretch his sore shoulders.

"That wasn't so bad." Ash mused as he considered his talk with Steven. He had been letting his social anxiety of talking over the phone keep him away from a meaningful relationship with his uncle for years, preferring to write short letters or send drawing when he was younger instead. Lance and Delia had let him get away with it to always thinking it would be better for the two to meet in person anyway as soon as it could be arranged. But every Birthday or Yule some league business had gotten in the way. It was easier for Lance to visit with the Indigo Plateau so close by and the well oiled powerful team that was the Indigo Elite Four ready to step up in his place if anything were to go wrong while he was gone. Steven was an entire ocean away, stuck with a Hoenn Elite Four that Steven trusted to run the nation in his absence only as far as he could throw them. Not to mention Ash's birthday landed only a few weeks before the Ever Grande Conference, the busiest and most stressful time for the Hoenn Champion.

Rayna watched her trainer affectionately. He really was a funny boy, getting all worked up and worried about talking to someone who seemed to care for him greatly.

"Race you back?" Ash asked his starter with a competitive grin as he caught sight of the flickering porch lights in the distance, no doubt Professor Kukui trying to tell him it was time to go to bed.

"Ri!"

"Ready, set, go!"

 **Hey guys! It's been awhile!**

 **I am not a fan of how this chapter turned out. I've written it several times over the last few months and have decided to just post my best version and move onto the next. I hope you guys get at least a little enjoyment out of it.**

 **Alola was suppose to only take up one chapter but obviously that's not happening. I'm thinking there will be at least another two if not more.**

 **Ella has a Mantyke! I struggled a long time over what water type to give her but ultimately decided that an overly friendly Mantyke was the way to go. I know Mantyke isn't supposed to have levitate but it makes sense to me! It's a flying type!**

 **Mikiko was a thing that happened. She a backpacker that you battle at Brooklet Hill in Sun and Moon and what was just supposed to be someone for Ash to battle became a minor character that we will see pop up throughout the story. You'll see ;)**

 **We have also met Steven! I've found that I love writing him. I identify more with his voice of reason attitude than Lance's brashness.**

 **For any writers out there that struggle keeping track of dates and important events in their story I discovered while Google Calendar is our friend! Seriously, it been a lifesaver, this story would have so many plot holes without it. Not to mention it's a great way to plan ahead.**

 **Chapter Five is already in the works and hopefully wouldn't take nearly as long as this one did to appear. I don't think it will, I'm really feeling this one.**

 **One last thing, don't forget to REVIEW! ….It makes me happy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ash's Pokemon**

 **-RAYNA(Riolu/female) ABILITY: Inner Focus MOVES: Quick Attack, Foresight, Counter, Force Palm, Blinding Rush(combo of Quick Attack and Force Palm) EGG MOVE: Blaze Kick**

 **-ZIGGY(Niobat/male) ABILITY: Infiltrator MOVES: Tackle, Supersonic, Screech, Absorb, Gust, Confusion Bell(combo of Absorb and Supersonic) EGG MOVE: Tailwind**

 **-FLETCHER(Rowlet/male) ABILITY: Overgrow MOVES: Tackle, Leafage, Growl, Peck EGG MOVE: Hypnosis **

* * *

"Blinding Rush!"

The next day found Ash and Rayna exploring the freezing caves of Mount Lanakila on their quest to add an ice type to the team. They were currently battling a trainer that had stopped them as they roamed further into the underbelly of the mountain. The duo had slipped out early morning to meet Kiawe as Ziggy and Fletcher slept on. It had been a nightmare last night to explain their plan to distraught Fletcher who did not like being left behind but settled down slightly when he learned that Ziggy would be staying also. The dragon type himself had been quite pleased that he would get to spend the day relaxing on a beach rather than journeying up to the wintry mountain.

Rayna zipped towards her opponent, not at all minding the cold icy weather unlike the poor Flabebe she was about to pummel. Now seeing the fairy type in person for the first time Ash had no idea how the scientific community could still be debating over classifying it as a dual grass type. The creature could barely function in the cold, was using almost nothing but grass type attacks and is carrying around a flower for God's sake. If scientist were gonna debate anything at all it should be if Flabebe was a fairy type, which is almost as obvious as the grass typing. Almost.

"Razor Leaf," Ash's opponent, a stocky kid named Minty claiming to be a Pokemon collector, commanded without emotion. Ash didn't like him much.

The pitiable Flabebe clung to it's frost covered flower as it shivered while trying desperately to produce the attack it had been ordered to. It managed to conjure up only a few flimsy unsharpened leaves that did nothing to hinder Rayna's magnificent attack, which struck milliseconds later knocking Flabebe clean out.

Rayna marched back to Ash's side with a fixed sour face and fists clenched at her side. Clearly she was just as unsatisfied as her trainer. The fight she had just been in hadn't been much of a battle and definitely not fair. If anything she had been putting the poor _poor_ Flabebe out of its misery.

"You did well. That Blinding Rush was perfect, I think we can call the move mastered now. We'll have to celebrate later," Ash complemented, trying to find a good side to the battle. Rayna notably brightened at Ash's words, proud of her accomplishment and excited to learn whatever move would be coming next.

"You're Riolu is well bred," Minty said as he walked up to the pair, surveying Rayna hungerly. "I have a Pancham further along in it's training to trade you for it."

"Rayna isn't available for trade," Ash answered slowly, careful to keep his anger from showing. Of course there were many people who traded Pokemon out of good intentions and Ash wasn't against the idea for himself in very certain situations but there was just something about the way that Minty was eyeing Rayna up that set him off. Not to mention how he didn't seem to care about his Flabebe's obvious discomfort in their battle.

"You named it?" Minty sneered, a touch of disgust leaking into his voice.

" _Her_ ," Ash growled, not bothering to hide his rage anymore. Beside him Rayna tensed, her hands once again forming fists.

"So you're one of those people," Minty drawled out, never losing his sneer. "A word of advice you brainless dolt. Your Riolu is not a person, it's a Pokemon. Treat it like one."

"I know Rayna is a Pokemon. And I treat her like the living, intelligent, sentient being she is who is fully capable of understanding what you just said."

"Your lack of any notable intelligence is startling."

"Says the guy who sent a grass type out to battle on top of a freezing mountain."

"Flabebe is a _fairy_ type."

"That's up for debate."

"Obviously you can't be reasoned with," Minty said with a sniff as he turned towards the exit of the icy cave they had met in. "I'll be taking my leave now."

Ash watched the older teenager walk away as a wave of frustration swept through him. Other than Minty's unconcern about Flabebe's reaction to the cold there had been nothing wrong with the Pokemon, in fact it had looked very well taken care when it first appeared. Sadly treating your Pokemon like a shiny trophy instead of a living being was legal. There's a lot of discussion about whether such behavior should be made illegal on the grounds of a trainer neglecting their Pokemon's emotion and mental needs but nothing had written into law yet in any region.

"I can flag his name in my pokenav but other than that there's nothing we can do," Ash quietly told Rayna dejectedly.

"Ri!" Rayna exclaimed outraged as she pointed in the direction Minty had left in. "Ri rio ri ri r!"

"Trust me, I'm not happy about it either but he technically didn't break any laws. Once I flag him a Polygon in the international database will follow his movements for a few weeks and if it comes upon anything suspicious it'll report what it discover to the nearest Officer Jenny. I suspect Polygon might find Minty's Pokemon consistently go into the Pokemon Center in extremely bad conditions, that would prompt an investigation."

Rayna huffed angerly and pointed at Ash's pokenav.

"I'm not sure have service in here but if I don't I'll make a note so I don't forget."

Ash leaned up against the side of the cave as he slipped his gloves off, the cold immediately biting at his hands. The boy was happily surprised to see he did have service once he flipped his pokenav on. Thank you Steven. He was even more pleased to see in his trainers account he had won $800 in his battle with Minty, $300 more than he was expecting. Ash quickly clicked the flag by the trainers name and went onto describe his experience with the Pokemon collector in the provided box with his numbing fingers before sending the report off to the authorities.

"Happy?" Ash asked his starter as he fumbled to slip his gloves back on.

Rayna nodded as as she grabbed hold of Ash's pant leg and pulled him farther into the tunnel, eager to continue their adventure and forget about Minty.

Ash didn't have much interest in the caves, all the Pokemon he was wanted to find and more could be outside the treacherous tunnels. What drew the boy in was the chance to find rare stones that were rumored to be common place in the deeper levels. Still, Ash didn't want to spend more than an hour or two here, he needed to make sure he had time to find and catch an ice type.

The duo shuffled on for awhile longer, taking their time to make sure they didn't slip on patches of hidden ice. Ash, who wasn't used to the cold held his freezing hands under his armpits. Rayna was much more use to this type of environment being from Sinnoh so Ash let her lead the way, trusting her to keep them out of trouble.

Just as Ash was about to suggest they turn around and head back Rayna went rigid, holding up a hand to stop her trainer. The Emanation Pokemon set her ears back as she stepped forward into a crouch and growled. Ash felt a slight shiver go though he hearing savage rumbling sound come from his starter for the first time. A shuffling noise from above prompted Ash to look up just in time to catch a flash a gray fur jump through his line of sight. The boy breathlessly took note of a small den carved into the ice above he hadn't noticed before.

"Ab," came a deep Pokemon voice.

Ash gasped at the sight before him. Blocking his and Rayna's way was two majestic Absols. Their crimson eyes met Ash's brown ones through their heavy silvery light gray fur. Dark blueish impossibly sharp scythes stood proudly gleaming attached to the right sides of their heads, matching the color of their faces and sword like tail. They were absolutely beautiful and awe inspiring.

Rayna growled again as she took another step toward, making her intentions that she would protect her trainer at all cost clear if they weren't before.

"Hey, hey, hold up. I don't think they want to hurt us." Ash reasoned as he placed a hand on Rayna's shoulder. Ash's aura was singing in his veins that something important was about to happen and the two disaster Pokemon in front of them were to be their guides.

"Ab," the bigger of the duo drawled out gently as it lower its head passively and treaded forward slowly, coming eye to eye with Ash. The trainer weakly noted that he didn't think this species were supposed to get this big. The Absol knelt down slightly to nudge the boys hand with its nose, signaling what it wanted.

"Are you sure?" Ash asked with wide eyes. The idea of linking auras with this mighty beast felt almost like trespassing.

The Disaster Pokemon nodded, it's warm sparking eyes nothing but encouraging. Ash lifted his hand to place it on the side of the great Pokemon's face before letting his aura surge forward to meet Absols. The young trainer knew in an instant the creature before him was ancient, surrounding him with the essence of its age old wisdom while still managing to hold back some of it's aura so it didn't overwhelm the fragile human.

The old Absol pushed forward images of a large Pokemon standing protectively over it's young one in the snow, nuzzling the baby's head lovingly with it's own as tears rushed its face, before vanishing suddenly in an oncoming bright fiery explosion. Ash didn't know what exactly he was seeing but was suddenly overtaken by an overwhelming amount of grief. He knew with certainty that the Pokemon and it's child were dead and with another push from Absol's aura he knew they had been dead for a long time.

"Wha?" Ash questioned as Absol pulled away, dimly becoming aware that his cheeks were wet. Rayna nuzzled into her trainers side, concerned over the sudden appearance of tears on her trainers face. Once Ash recomposed himself he look up to once again meet Absol eyes, a well of determination swelling in his gut. He knew now what the Absol wanted from him.

"Show me."

Absol nodded before turning it's back to face Ash, signaling with his(Ash know when the the bigger Absol was male and the is other his mate)head for the boy to climb on his back. Ash couldn't help the feeling of wonderment as he climbed onto atop a Pokemon he had started to view in the last few moments as mythical.

After Rayna and Ash were secure behind the dark types withers Absol took off with a mighty leaf back into the den it had first appeared from, his mate right behind them. What had first appeared to be a hidey hole Ash could now see was actually another small tunnel that soon branched out into more, forming a network above the main larger caves that Ash had been exploring earlier. They journeyed on and on, the cold making the trip seem a lot longer to Ash than it actually was before finally the two came to a halt in a large icy cavern.

The walls of the underground chamber were covered in ice except the side directly in front of them where the frozen water had been carefully chipped away to reveal the fossilized remains of the two Pokemon in Ash's vision. They lay the same way they did when they stood together as they took their last breath who knew how many eons ago. The larger of the Pokemon encircled the smaller one protectively with its large neck, the tip of its head coming to rest on it's child. The baby snuggled into its parent, it's fear even still notable in fossil form. Ash felt his heart break all over again.

The smaller Absol padded over to the fossil, dipping her head in respect as she neared. She came to stand by a good size rock that lay just under petrified remains on the otherwise clean floor, becoming with her paw for Ash to come forward. After following Absol's example and bowing to the two long deceased creatures Ash made his way forward and knelt down next to the stone to investigate what the Absol had brought him here for.

It was fossil, a piece from the flowing cloth like material on the baby's head Ash hadn't noticed was missing before. Absol nudged the fossil forwards Ash in an almost maternal nature, her eyes large and trusting.

"Are you sure?" Ash asked once again.

Both Absol nodded.

Ash had never been someone to shy away from responsibility or a challenge, much less the opportunity to help someone. This case was no different even if a small insecure part of Ash's brain thought this was a task that should have been handed to a stronger and more experienced trainer. Fossils were rare and worth a lot of money on the black market, it wasn't a stretch for a thief to try to take it from him, a thief that Ash and his young inexperienced Pokemon would most likely not be able to stop. In fact they might only manage to get themselves hurt, or worse, killed.

'I'm not alone,' Ash reminded himself. There were lots of people out there that would help him, not to mention that he would be traveling with a much stronger trainers in Kanto because he already had a target on his back. Also the Absol had chosen him for this task. There must be a reason why and Ash was willing to trust their wisdom.

So Ash shook aside his doubts and hardened his resolve. A Pokemon needed his help and there was no way he was going to say no.

"I'll take care of the baby. I promise. I'll revive it the first chance I get and help it learn how to survive in this new world. It'll be safe and loved with me."

"Ri ri ri rio!" Rayna agreed.

The shining compassionate look in the ancient Pokemon's red eyes told the boy they believed them.

Ash wrapped the fossil carefully in his heat reflective blanket he had brought in case of an emergency before slipping it gingerly inside his bag. Rayna watched his movements carefully, the burden that had just been placed on them resonating as strongly with her as it did with Ash.

The Absol didn't take the same way back as they did to reach the cavern, instead tracking a shortcut that led them right above the entrance of the entire cave system. The Disaster Pokemon waited patiently for all the coming and going trainers below to disappear before hopping down to say goodbye to their passengers. Both Absol gently pressed their noses to Ash's and Rayna's tenderly before jumping up into the hidden tunnel above and disappearing, leaving as suddenly as they appear to most likely wait for a another worthy trainer to come along to gift the parent fossil to probably long after Ash and his Pokemon passed on.

"I wonder if we'll ever see them again?" Ash melancholy.

Rayna shrugged before taking the boys hand and leading him out of the cave system into the bright light of the day.

* * *

Ash and Rayna trudged through the snow covered forest still on their original mission to find an Alolan Vulpix. Ash assumed the fossil he now carried would result in a rock and ice type with all restored fossils being rock types and that to survive up here the Pokemon probably had to be an ice type. Still, that was no guaranteed. Plus the fairy type Vulpix would gain after evolving and it's psychic abilities kept it at the top of Ash's caught list.

Ash used his half activated aura sight to step around strange patches of ice buried just out of view under the snow that always seemed to get in his way. After face planting a few times the trainer was thoroughly annoyed. There was no way they were all occurring naturally. The ice patches were probably a prank, Ash just didn't know if some wild Pokemon was playing with him or he was just the unlucky person to stumble upon then. Ash was inclined to believe the first if the Pokemonish giggly he's heard the first few times he fell was anything to go on.

"Ri," Rayna barked as she pointed ahead.

About twenty feet in front of the leaning against the front of a large fir tree was a girl a few years older than Ash, throwing a pokeball up and down in her hand. She donned tight neon yellow snow gear that almost looked tactical and wore her startling red hair in a high ponytail. Having also heard Rayna the girl walked into their path with a steely look set upon her face, blue eyes sparkling.

"Hey you! Three on three here and now!"

"Err, but I only have Rayna on me right now," Ash answered as he gestured to his starter.

"Okay, one on one then," the girl seemed slightly deflated and then seemed to deflate even more as she evaluated Rayna. "How long have you been a trainer for?"

"Almost a week."

The girl face planted into the snow.

"Aww come on! I just want one good battle!" The teenager yelled towards the sky after she rolled over. "No offense kid but I'm a little above your level. If you continue the way your going you'll run into my protege. Nice girl but sorta timid, go easy on her. Tell her Jada sent you, she'll have to battle you then."

"Okay…" Ash trailed off as he walked around the Jada who was still laying in the snow. "Do you help getting up?"

"Nope. I'm just gonna lay here and contemplate the universe."

"Alright then…" The younger teen mumbled he trekked on, avoiding another patch of ice.

"Ri?" Rayna murmured confusedly while looking back at the girl fading into the distance who was still hadn't gotten up.

"Don't ask me," Ash said with a shrug.

It wasn't long before the duo came upon another girl battling Snorunt with a yellow, white and black squirrel like Pokemon. She looked around Ash's age but it was hard to tell with the many layers she wore, making her look a cotton marshmallow. Ash could just make out a tuft of mousy brown hair peeking out of her many hats.

"Thundershock," The girl squeaked, the order coming out more like a question than a command.

Her Pokemon obeyed by firing off a weak static shot that hit the lead Snorunt in the foot. Instead of damage though the frail attack only seemed to make it angry.

"Sno!" The Snorunt cried before taking a deep breath and firing off an impressive Icy Wind. The poor yellow Pokemon didn't even try to dodge nor did it's shaking trainer give the command for it to do so, instead taking the attack full on and collapsing to the ground in a shriving heap afterward.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," The girl whimpered as she fumbled with a pokeball in her heavily gloved hands.

It seemed the Snorunt weren't done yet, all of them were charging some sort of ice attack. Most of the them were aiming for their beaten opponent but the leader had his head eyes set on the panicking trainer. That's when Ash decided to intervene.

"Blinding Rush on the boss then take out the rest," Ash ordered quietly, not wanting to alert the Snorunt to his presence until the last possible second.

Ash didn't watch Rayna carry out his orders, instead sprinting towards the stunned girl. He only stopped briefly to scoop up her Pokemon before grabbing the girl by the arm and hauling her behind the truck of a tree.

"Wha?" The girl chattered. Ash ignored her in favor of pulling out an ice heal to use on the Pokemon cradled in his arms. The boy gently pried open what he assumed to a an electric types mouth and sprayed the inside of it a few times with the ice heal before doing the same over the numerous frost bites covering what Ash guessed were wings. The ugly purple spots vanished quickly and the Pokemon's breathing sped up as it started to stir.

"Emol," it whimpered pitifully.

"Emolga!" Abruptly the Pokemon was out of Ash's lap and into the arms of the girl who held it closely as she wept. Seeing as the two of them were fine Ash stuck his head out from behind the tree to see how Rayna was doing.

The fighting type was hightailing around in Quick Attack, knocking the Snorunt into trees and causing their attacks to hit each other. It seemed like the little gang had no idea how to deal with a speedy opponent.

"Thank you." Ash turned his attention back to the girl who was looking at him with big hero worshiping eyes. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come along."

Ash rubbed his head awkwardly, not used to this kind of attention. The question did remind Ash as to why he had to play the hero.

"What were you doing battling those Pokemon?"

"Training," The girl answered as she ducked her head. "Jada said Snorunt were a good place to start." So this was the protege the weird sky gazing teen had been talking about.

"Well she's not wrong. But I'm pretty sure she meant just one of them. A weak one."

"I'm sorry. I never meant for Emolga to get hurt."

She looked so dejected that Ash was afraid she might start crying. Hoping to avoid the uncomfortable tears Ash changed the subject.

"I'm Ash and my partner over there is Rayna," The boy said as he held out his hand.

"Peren," The girl said as she took Ash's hand. "This little cutie is Emolga."

"Emolga," Ash repeated, having never heard of the Pokemon. "Do you mind if I scan it with my pokedex?"

"Go right ahead," Peren answered, a hint of a smile appearing on her face.

" _Emolga, the Sky Squirrel Pokemon, a electric and flying type. Emolga store up electricity to fly through the air. When thunder cracks at night, sometimes there are almost enough of them to blot out the sky. This Emolga is male."_

"Cool," Ash said with a smile as he put his pokedex away. He had never heard of a Pokemon using electricity to fly before without Magnet Rise.

"Emo!" The Sky Squirrel Pokemon squealed happily at the compliment.

"I'm suppose to tell you that Jada sent me," Ash said, having a feeling that what he said would entice a negative reaction but feeling like it had to be said anyways.

Preen paled before glancing around to get a look at Rayna who was making her way towards them, a group of unconscious Snorunt in her wake. She brought her gaze back to Ash and looked into his eyes, a spark igniting in hers.

"I'm not a very good battler but if a battle is what you want a battle is what you'll get!" Peren returned Emolga to it's pokeball before fumbling to take out another one. "It's the least I can do after you saved me."

"You up for this?" Ash asked Rayna as she jumped on his shoulder. She looked slightly out of breath but pumped her fist in a show of battle spirit anyways.

"Alright," Ash answered as he walked a few paces away, giving them room to battle. In his mind Ash decided to treat this battle as a training battle for Peren, maybe he could help her. "Just remember to be confident and believe in your Pokemon. You can have the first move."

Peren nodded resolutely as she threw her pokeball. "Go Pansear!"

Materializing in front of him was a Pokemon that Ash thought could pass for a fire type Mankey. Other than the color it's large round ears and curled red hair sitting atop it's head are what set it apart.

 _Pansear, The High Temp Pokemon, a fire type. When Pansear is angered, the temperature of it's head tuft reaches 600_ _F. It uses its tuft to roast berries. This Pansear is male."_

Peren didn't waste a second in starting the battle. "Incinerate!"

"Dodge then Quick Attack!"

Pansear formed a ball of fire in it's paw before hurling it at Rayna but the Fighting type was already gone. In the split second it took the shocked Pansear to blink Rayna rammed into his side, sending him flying.

"Leer!"

"Close your eyes and use aura to see. Quick Attack again!"

Ash noticed instead of calling a counter like she should Peren did nothing expect wait for the inevitable hit. Ash was starting to get the feeling Peren's weakness is strategy.

Or maybe she had gone to a school that uses one of those stupid battle simulator machines where you take turns hitting each other with your most effect move and your opponent never budged. It was really just a competition of type effectiveness and your Pokemon's "level", whatever that was supposed to be. Really, Ash could go on and on about the foolish device.

Pansear was sent flying again as Rayna struck with Quick Attack, this time taking a little longer to get up. Once again like in her battle with Snorunt as soon as her Pokemon showed any signs of injury Peren went into a panic, wringing her hands and hyperventilating.

"Think Peren," Ash called. "You know what attack I'm going to use next so how can you stop it? Be creative. And just because one counter fails doesn't mean you have to wait and take the hit before you try something else. Like really, please don't have your Pokemon stand there and do nothing, at least tell it try to dodge." A exasperated tone had entered Ash voice by the time he as done with his speech.

"Pan!" Pansear cried in encouragement, giving his trainer a heads up.

"Right," Peren nodded, calming down. "I think I know what to do."

"Alright. Quick Attack!"

"Fury Swipes!" Peren countered.

This time when Rayna closed in Pansear was waiting, as soon as the fighting type was within arm distance Pansear struck Rayna with a hearty Fury Swipe, hitting the side of her head. Rayna fell hard to the ground and Pansage didn't let up for a second. The fire type straddled his opponent as he mercilessly swiped at Rayna with his claws, leaving cuts all along her torso.

"Force Palm!"

As soon as ordered Rayna's paw jammed up through Pansears arms to hit his head with the concussive attack, sending him flying back a third time. It took both Pokemon a moment to struggle to their feet.

The cuts along Rayna's torso and head were shallow but many. Ash could only imagine how that felt. Every part of her must sting. Rayna shook her head and shifted her weight from foot to foot a few times as she got use to the pain but never taking her eyes off her opponent, signaling she was still very much in the game.

Pansear in worse condition. He was bruised all over and swaying from side to side, probably from a concussion. He couldn't go on much longer the way he was looking. Lucky for Peren as the fire type finally got a hold of himself Pansears tuft of hair atop his head ignited like a giant ember letting everyone know that Pansears ability Blaze had activated.

Even with Blaze activated it was still clear as day that Pansear was in a lot of pain. As much as Ash wanted to help encourage Peren's growing confidence it wasn't fair to her Pokemon to draw out a schooling battle while they were in so much discomfort. It was time to end this.

"Incinerate!"

"Blinding Rush!"

Pansear quickly managed to form an awe inspiring ball of fire in his paw thanks to Blaze. It grew to about the size of the Pokemon's head, fire churning brightly like a miniature sun. The fire types arms were shaking from the exertion of keeping the move from collapsing in on itself. Ash truly was impressed. To bad Pansear never got the chance to use the fearsome attack. Just as the fire type drew his hand back to throw the ball of blazing fury Rayna hit him. Her Force Palm detonating just under Pansears wrist, throwing the High Temp Pokemon's attack off course and Pansear crashing into a large rock. The grass type didn't get up.

Clapping broke through the forest. Both trainers turned to find Jada leaning against another tree, obnoxious yellow suit and all with a Chansey by her side.

"Now that was a good battle! The best I've seen in a long time form you Peren. Now you two get your Pokemon over here, I have a super potion with their name on it. Especially for the Riolu since Peren doesn't have a penny left to her name for you to win young man."

Ash sweat dropped.

* * *

Once Rayna and Pansear were fully healed Ash sat down with the girls for lunch. Ash had learned that Peren and Jada's knew each other through their fathers who were best friends since childhood. When shy and timid Peren had left home on her journey last April her father had asked Jada's if his older and more experienced daughter would look after Peren as she adjusted to her new lifestyle. Over the top Jada took that as a challenge to make the best trainer out of Peren possible. To teach the younger girl everything she knew and them some. The girls were currently in Alola on what was suppose to be a vacation between leagues but Jada had wanted to fit some training in which led them to Mount Lanakila where they met Ash.

Jada, who was currently looking for a new league to compete in enthusiastically picked Ash's brain about Kanto and Johto. The older teen seemed mostly interested in the ice caves in the Seafoam Islands much to Peren's horror. Ash parted ways from the girls not long after with the distinct feeling he would be seeing at least Jada again at the Indigo Plateau.

Trainer and starter resumed their quest to find an Alolan Vulpix. They also continued to dodge icy sheets hidden under the snow and other obstacles that were becoming harder and harder to avoid. Ash was convinced the culprit of the pranks was one of the Sneasel that made faces at them anytime they passed one. The duo also passed a group of Alolan Sandshrew(Ash found their igloo shells ridiculously amusing), a few Glalie and one lone Absol that Ash was quite tempted to try his luck on even if the mighty beast was clearly much stronger than he could handle.

"Vul!"

Ash and Rayna came to a sudden stop as a cry echoed through the woods.

"You hear that?" Ash asked excitedly. Rayna nodded quickly as she pricked her ears up to try to catch the sound again.

"Vul!"

Rayna took off at a brick jog following the direction the noise had come from with Ash following behind.

"Vul!" "Vul." "Vulpix!"

Pokemon and trainer picked up the pace as the racket increased as they got closer, eagerly approaching their destination. The two rounded a large tree trunk to find a small band of white fox like creatures tussling cutely in the snow. Finally, an Alolan Vulpix. Ash immediately recognized Pokemon as a Vulpix but with some notable differences from the fire type he had come to known back home. The chief dissimilarity being the color. There were a few other variations though. The Alolan Vulpixs hair and tail was much fluffier than the normal Vulpixs, it was actually hard to tell if it's tail was one giant poofy thing or six separate ones that usually appear in Vulpix. Other smaller differences stood out like the bigger shape of the eyes, ears and head.

Ash only took a moment to observe all this before eagerly stepped forward with an empty pokeball already in hand. "Do any of you want to ba...Whoa!"

Ash didn't get far before the Vulpix were suddenly blocked from view by a much larger form standing between Ash and his potential catch. The Pokemon in front of them was breathtakingly beautiful. It's silvery blue white fur gleamed in the mid afternoon sun and its intelligent blue eyes watched his closely.

"Nine!"

"A Ninetail's," Ash breathed in disbelief. Ash didn't know about the Alolan variety but finding a Ninetail's in the wild in Kanto was basically unheard of, they only came down from the high mountains where they lived to have their kits. Which, actually, this encounter make sense. The Vulpix were obviously her children. And they were high up in the mountains. Duh.

It didn't take long to register in Ash's brain though that he had just upset a very powerful mother. While Ninetails were known for being calm and rational beings they still wouldn't hesitate just like any other Pokemon mother to protect their young from even the most minuscule threat.

"I'm sorry," Ash apologized as he bowed to the Fox Pokemon. "I didn't know your kits aren't old enough to leave the den yet. My partner and I will leave you in peace."

Trainer and starter again resumed their journey to find an Alolan Vulpix, this time hopefully one that was old enough to leave with them. They didn't get far from the Vulpix family though before Rayna froze, signaling for Ash to stop.

 _Creeeeak_

"What is the." The teen was interrupted by a large pile of snow being dumped on him from the tree branch above.

"Ow," Ash mumbled form where he ended up sprawled on his back half buried in the snow. The boy wiped the frozen vapor from his face and shook his head to try to get as much of the now slushy material out of his hair as possible before it melted. Ash then tried to prop himself up with his arms only to be pushed back down again by an abrupt weight on his chest.

"Owww!" The boy complained again, starting to get seriously annoyed by the situation. Ash tried to push himself up once more only to freeze once he caught sight the creature sitting on his chest. There, licking its paw nonchalantly with eyes sparkling with mischief and lips tilted upward(is it smirking?), was an Alolan Vulpix.

It took Ash's brain a few seconds to catch up. It had been doing a lot of that today. "You! You're the one who has been pulling all the pranks!"

Vulpix only dipped it's head in acknowledgment before turning it's attention back to it's paw(its _sooo_ smirking).

The trainer took a moment to asses the impish ice type before coming to a decision.

"How do you feel about a ba…" Vulpix interrupted him by pressing one of the empty pokeballs on Ash's belt with its paw, causing the mechanism to suck it in with a burst of brilliant red light. The ball didn't even shake, it just beeped out its signature ding the second Vulpix was fully inside. "ttl…"

Ash slowly turned to look at Rayna who had freed herself from the snow. The fighting type appeared just as bewildered as him, answering his unspoken question with a shrug.

"Do you know what's going on?" Ash turned to ask the Ninetail's still not far behind them. The alluring creature was looking on with clear amusement before turning to hear it's young ones away.

"Nine!" The ice and fairy type called just as they disappeared into the forest. Ash got the distinct impression it was telling him 'that's your problem now.'

* * *

" _Vulpix, the Fox Pokemon, an ice type. In hot weather, this Pokemon makes ice shards with its six tails and sprays them around to cool itself off. This Vulpix is female and has the ability Snow Cloak. It know the moves Powder Snow, Tail Whip, and Baby-Doll Eyes. Its egg move Hypnosis hasn't been unlocked yet."_

Ash shut his pokedex and put it away as he thought over the information from the log he was sitting on at the beach. That egg move was a gold mine. It would be awhile before Vulpix unlocked it and then would it probably be a pain to learn but all the hard work will be so worth it. Snow Cloak wasn't much use. Vulpix wouldn't learn blizzard until a long way down the line and Ash didn't foresee any hail storms in the near or distant future. Or at least he hoped not. As for Vulpix's moves Ash would have to see her use them first before he decided on what they needed to work on.

"Do you think it's time to put an end to their fun?" Ash teasing asked Fletcher who was snuggled in his lap.

"Flet," Fletcher hooted negatively as he shook his head, feeling just as much amusement as his trainer as the two watch the other three members of their team playing in the surf.

Once Ash had arrived back at Professor Kukies place via Kiawe he had reunited with an excited Ziggy and a desperate Fletcher. According to the professor the grass and flying type had been distraught the first hour Ash was gone but had started to settle down when Ziggy had pulled the Grass Quill Pokemon into a few games. The pokeblock baking session last night had done wonders for the two flying types relationship. Both had eaten until they vomited but thankfully resource disputes between the two had come to an end, leading to an uneasy but growing friendship.

Ash's plan after picking up the rest of his team was to head to the nearest fossil restoration site but was disappointed that there wasn't one yet operating in Alola. A park was apparently being built for fossil Pokemon on Akala but wouldn't be operational for another year. The next opportunity to revive the fossil Ash would have would be in Pewter. So for the second time in two days Ash found himself needing to call Steven. The stone expert could probably identify the fossil for him so Ash could start researching the Pokemon and help him get started on the paperwork he would have to fill out to keep the revived Pokemon. Anyone could happen upon a fossil but that didn't mean just anyone could care for a prehistoric Pokemon. Ash was almost certain the Indigo League would let him keep the creature given that he had helped care for prehistoric Pokemon before at Professor Oak's lab. There was also the fact that he would always be in the company of someone who could help if the task proved to much for him alone. There was just a lot of red tape to get through.

Being unable to do anything with the fossil in his bag Ash had taken his team down to an empty spot on the beach to introduce Vulpix to the group. The fox Pokemon's earlier easy impish confidence now seemed to be tainted with a little bit of nerves but Ash put an end to that quickly by showing Vulpix she had nothing to fear with his aura the same way he had with Fletcher a few days earlier. The ice type been quickly put at ease by that and back to her mischievous self. Vulpix had gone around the group of Pokemon introducing herself before she went to investigate the ocean, something Ash was sure she had never seen before. Fletcher had chosen to leap into Ash's lap while Ziggy and Rayna had decided to follow their new teammate to the water. Vulpix had been quick to initiate a splash fight, further ensuring her new trainer that she was back to what he assumed was her normal. Now Ash and Fletcher watched on as the three Pokemon played tag with the surf. They would all inch as close as they could to the receding water and then try to outrun the incoming waves. Rayna and Ziggy would sometimes find patches of ice in their way as they tried to escape the water but neither were afraid to barrel into Vulpix and send them all crashing into the sea. Even though the house was small in the distance Ash was sure even Professor Kukie could hear the giggling.

"I guess assessing Vulpix can wait until tomorrow. I can at least call Steven today," Ash mused as he unclipped his pokenev.

Fletcher let out a sound the teen assumed was a chuckle.

Ash quickly dialing Steven's number with none of the anxiety he felt last night, this time requesting a video chat instead of just a phone call. The boy then pulled the fossil form his bag as the pokenav rang, he was sure the stone expert would want to see it so might as well have it ready.

Out in the water Rayna, who had caught sight of what Ash had just removed from his bag, was quick to make her way back to her trainer. A curious Vulpix and Ziggy following behind. Vulpix stopped short when she caught sight of the fossil Ash was cradling carefully in his lap after having moved Fletcher off of him. The Fox Pokemon seemed to have been stunned still in awe and disbelief before she slowly gathered herself and joined Rayna in what Ash could only describe as standing guard.

"Hello Ash. I wasn't expecting to hear from you again so soon."

The teen scampered to pick up his slightly forgotten pokenav from where he had put it down on the log and held the camera in front of him feeling slightly embarrassed. Steven looked back at him on the screen with an amused smirk dancing across his face. Guessing from the background Ash assumed he was in a hotel guest room.

"Ah, yeah," Ash said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I stumbled upon something I think I need your help with."

"Well at least it looks like you got the situation you called me last night about under control," the steel type expert discreetly said as he directed his gaze to the two flying types sitting next to Ash, trying not to tip them off that the humans had been talking about them behind their backs even if it was for their own good.

"Yeah, your advice has worked wonders."

"And is that an Alolan Vulpix?" Steven asked curiously as he leaned forward. Vulpix stepped further into the shot at the mention of herself, simpering into the camera as if to say 'yes, I am an Alolan Vulpix. Amazing isn't it.'

"I've heard of them but have never seen one before. Interesting. They gain the dual fairy type when they evolve yes?"

"Yeah," Ash answered smugly already knowing where this was going.

"A Pokemon that is both a fairy and ice type, the only Pokemon in existence that has both those typings, the ultimate weaknesses of dragons," Steven's voice took on a innocent tone like he wasn't plotting the downfall of his best friend with said best friends kid. "As far as I know the Alolan Vulpix has never graced Indigo with it presence before and Indigo's esteemed Dragon Master has most likely never heard of it." Here Steven's face turned serious. "I need you to videotape Lances reaction for me when you tell him you caught Vulpix."

Ash threw his head back and laughed already imagining the champions reaction.

"Vul?" Vulpix barked with a tilt of her head. She knew the humans were talking about sharing the knowledge of her existence with someone but other than that she was pretty lost.

"Your gonna be part of a prank," Ash explained to the ice type with a smirk. Vulpix perked up immediately at the thought of humor at someones elses expense.

"Anyways," Steven said as he to got his laughing under control. "What do you need?"

"I found a fossil!" Ash exclaimed excitedly, glad to be back on topic.

"Really?" The stone expert replied, suddenly serious. "Where?"

"In the ice caves of Mount Lanakila. There's no restoration machine here in Alola ready to use yet so I hoping you could help me get started on the paperwork to use the one in Pewter and tell me what fossil I found so can do some research?"

"Of course I can help. I never heard of fossil being discovered on Mount Lanakila or anywhere in Alola before...Mind showing me what you found?"

Ash nodded as he maneuvered the camera around to display the stone in his lap.

"...Holy shit," Steven breathed.

"Ash," the former champions voice sounded serious, like the kind of serious Professor Oak had been when he had saved Gary and himself from that Fearow. "Who else knows you have this fossil?"

"Professor Kukui knows I found a fossil but I didn't show it to him."

"Did you tell him where you found it?"

"Yeah. He seemed really surprised. Said he wanted to take a team up the mountain to do some more digging. I don't think he's gonna find anything though…" Ash trailed off at the end thinking of the two guardian Absol.

"Shit! I need you to head back over to his house right now and tell him not to tell anyone if he hasn't already. I'll call you both back as soon as I can, no more than a half hour."

"Okay," Ash answered shakily as he returned his concerned Pokemon.

"You didn't do anything wrong Ash," Steven assured the somewhat frightened young teen. "If anything you've made a very important discovery. One the scientific community isn't quite ready for the rest of the world to find out about quite yet. If that fossil or the knowledge of it were to fall into the wrong hands the results could be catastrophic."

"Got it," Ash breathed before exchanging goodbyes with the stone expert and taking off at a sprint back towards the house.

When Ash arrived back at the beach home he felt like he was about to collapse and the stitch in his chest wasn't helping his futile attempts of breathing. He was stupidly fit but running over ten minutes at full speed in the sand would be trying on anyone.

"Professor!" Ash called hoarsely.

"Down here," came the reply from the basement.

To Ash's horror he found Kukui pouring over maps of the Mount Lanakila ice caves on his computer. On the professor's desk was a few printed out sections of the map that had been written all over, areas circled and arrows pointing this way and that.

"There you are!" the teacher said excitedly as he beckoned the boy towards the computer. "Can you remember around what area you found the fossil?"

"Please tell me you haven't told anyone about it yet?" Ash asked desperately, already preparing for the answer he didn't want to hear.

"Err, no," came the confused reply.

"Thank Arceus," the teen breathed as he plopped down in a chair.

"What's going on?"

"I talked to Steven. He freaked out when I showed him the fossil. Told me to head back here and to make sure you haven't told anyone about it."

"Did he tell you anything else?" Kukui asked, looking both very confused and worried.

"Just that he'll call us back soon."

"Can I take a look at the fossil?" the professor asked after a moment hesitation.

Ash said nothing as he pulled the rock out of his bag once more and presenting it to his host. While the professor poured over the fossilized remains Ash released his Pokemon. The boys team all found some place to make themselves at home at either on Ash or somewhere else around the room. They could all sense the tenseness and knew something important was about to happen.

"I don't recognize this fossil at all," Kukui said bewildered and slightly mystified as be he sat back in his own chair.

"How's that possible?" Ash asked. Kukui was one of the regional professors, how could he not identify a simple fossil. They were all distinct and there weren't many of them. Even Ash could recognize the petrified remains of the ancient Pokemon from Kanto.

"I don't know," came the quiet answer.

The two soon fell into a nervous silence as they both tried to keep their anxious minds busy on their devices. Fletcher dozed on Ash's shoulder and Ziggy ended up doing the same in his trainers lap. Vulpix took her time prowling around the room as she explored every corner while Rayna choose to stand guard at Ash's side. The fighting types eyes were constantly shifting from the fossil, to Ash, to Kukui and the door. A part of Ash thought they were all over reacting. Steven just told them to stay quiet but here they were acting like the front door was about to be broken down any second.

Finally, forty minutes after Ash had barged into the house the doorbell rang. All the occupants of the basement froze, Ziggy and Fletcher now wide awake.

"Stay here and don't come upstairs unless I tell you to," Kukui said as he pulled a pokeball from his lab coat and made his way to the first floor of his home to answer the door.

Ash held his breath as he heard the front door open. The sound of talking drifted downstairs but while it was to quite for Ash to make out, his Pokemon could. Rayna immediately relaxed, letting out a happy yip as she bounded up the stairs.

"Wait!" Ash called after his starter as quietly as could but the Emanation Pokemon was already gone. Ash tried to go after her the dragon on his lap refused to move. Ziggy leaned back against trainer as he got comfortable again and patted Ash's arm, the flying types way of telling him not worry.

Ash held his breath when he heard footsteps making their way down to the basement. Not two seconds later Delia rounded the half open door, Rayna in her arms.

"Mom!"

"Hi honey," The woman greeted happily. "Surprise!"

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked astonished as he tried once more fruitlessly to remove a catnapping Ziggy from his lap so he could hug his mother.

"Trying to avoid an international disaster. Steven felt this was important enough to teleport us all here so we could talk about it in person," Deila answered as she waved away her son's attempts to get up for her. She found her sons new Pokemon much to adorable to disturb for her own sake.

"I'm guessing the fossil I found is of newly discovered Pokemon the public hasn't been made aware of yet?" the young trainer asked warily.

"Not even most of the scientific community knows about this one," Steven Stone said as he entered the room, Lance, Professor Oak and Professor Kukui behind him. All Ash could do was wave weakly at the men in greeting who all sent Ash a wave or smile of their own.

"Why is it being kept secret?" Ash asked after everyone was settled.

"Conservation," Steven answered. "Prehistoric Pokemon are incredibly rare and sell for millions on the black market. Pokemon thieves and criminal teams like Team Rocket will do anything to acquire one, their methods mostly violent and leaving a body count behind. Now there's estimated to be about a couple hundred of each species of fossil Pokemon alive and walking today. All of these Pokemon are rough around the edges, hard to train and extremely difficult to gain cooperation from. The fossil you stumbled upon belongs to a species that is benevolent, kind and beautiful. Professor Sycamore has nicked named them the gentle giants of Pokemon. And they're just as much of a powerhouse as any other fossil." Here Steven stopped and fiddled with his pokenav for a few seconds before passing it to Professor Oak who's eyes widened slightly as he took in whatever was on the screen.

"There is only one Amaura in existence today and only one of its evolutionary form Aurorus. The first and only Amaura fossil until today was found and revived almost twenty years ago in Kalso. Kalosian scientists have been studying it in secret since then. It didn't take long for the Amaura to evolve into an Aurorus and only a few years ago that Aurorus was bred with a ditto to produce another Amaura. They were the only ones of their kind living." Professor Oak passed the pokenav to Kukui who then passed it do Delia.

"Can you picture how much a Pokemon like that would go for?" Steven asked as he looked Ash right in the eye, making sure the boy understood how important the situation was they were in. "Your fossil alone unrevived is worth more on the Black Market the Lances fully trained Aerodactyl or any of my fossil Pokemon. I can't even begin to fathom what Aurorus would sell for. There are criminals out there who are willing to and have murdered for a Kabuto, imagine the lengths they would go to get their hands on a Pokemon like Amaura."

Ash gulped as he looked over at the fossil sitting innocently on the table. How the hell was he going to keep his Amaura safe once it's awoken? The trainer was under no illusions that if he were to return to Kanto with this Pokemon and it was discovered he'd have the full might of Team Rocket coming after him. Could he put the lives of the rest of his team and himself in danger just to protect one Pokemon that could be just as happy and loved with another trainer that was actually capable of defending it?

"You want me to give the fossil up," Ash asked weakly.

"It's for the best," Oak said gently.

Delia passed the pokenav to her son, watching his reaction carefully. Ash tilted back so Lance who was leaning against the wall next to him could see over his shoulder.

Pictured on the screen were the two Pokemon Absol had shown Ash. A small pastel blue Amaura gazed up at it's mother lovingly with it's large dark eyes and a stunning Aurorus nuzzled the top of its head just like Ash had seen in his vision. Instead of appearing on a snowing mountain these two were in what Ash assumed to a be a rain forest, the glass edges of their enclosure could be seen in the distance. The boy felt a lump form in his throat as images from the vision Absol had shown his swam in his mind. Even though the pair pictured in front of him were happy and safe it was so easy to imagine an explosion going off in the distance and wiping the two out of existence.

"I'm not so sure about that," Lance answered Oak with a frown. "Ash already has the best protection Indigo has to offer. There will be trainers of the caliber Amaura would be placed with anyways at Ash's side constantly."

"A few days every month Ash will only have Riley with him. While his Lucario is very well trained its the only Pokemon he has."

"So you'll leave Ash with him but not a rare Pokemon," Lance growled out. "Ash has a bigger target on his back!"

"You think Team Rocket cares more about Ash than an Amaura?" Oak asked incredulously. "I'm fairly certain the Amaura is worth more in monetary value."

"They could use him to blackmail me and the Indigo League!" Lance shouted. "Rule from the shadows! I admit if they had Ash and was threatening his life I would do what they said. I'm not sure you understands how big Team Rocket has grown! They're looking at bigger things than just money now!"

"Back to the Amaura," Steven butted in, not liking where the argument was going in front of the Ash. Thankfully Ash seemed lost to the world, to immersed in the picture. "I think you're both right. The Amaura is fine with Ash as long as Will or I am with him but Riley isn't enough. But Riley isn't enough to protect Ash either. I don't mind volunteering a few more extra days with Ash while Riley's with him, I'll admit I'm curious to see how one teaches an aura adapt. And we shouldn't be making decisions about the fossil until we talk to Professor Sycamore and the scientist studying the two in Kalso. They know far more about this Pokemon than anyone and it isn't right for us decide what to do with a secret they've been keeping for two decades without their input. We could screw over their entire research project. I think they'll be in agreement with Lance though. They've learned all they can about the Pokemon in a controlled captive environment with the two they have. There's been talk of finding a trainer for their Amaura and adding it to the pokedex. If Ash were to show up with an Amaura in Kanto revived from a fossil he found in Alola there would be no reason to think there's one much less two in Kalso. That means the scientist can still study their Amaura and Aurorus peacefully in secret while they get new data from Ash."

"If you're going to make it public knowledge that the fossil was found in Alola you need to at least let the Kuhans know first," Kukui said finally butting in. "Illegal miners would flock to Mount Lanakila not caring at all about persevering the mountain and I don't think Alola has resources to protect it."

"Indigo can supply Ace Trainers to the area," Lance answered. "The mountain will need to officially be made a natural reserve or protected area before we can technically offer help though"

"I'll put you in touch with right people," the young professor answered.

"You guys are still talking about trusting the rarest non legendary Pokemon to a thirteen year old!" Oak exclaimed as he threw his hands up. He trusted and cared for Ash, but placing a Pokemon like Amaura in the care of a boy who had been a trainer for less than a week was still absurd to him.

"Technically Tyrunt and Tyrantrum are the rarest now," Steven mumbled under his breath.

"Deila!" Oak turned desperately to his right hand, practically begging. "Help me out on this please."

The brown hair woman sent her mentor a neutral look before turning to study her son. Ash was completely dead to the rest of the room, staring at the image on Stevens pokenav. There was a misty wet faraway look in the teen's eyes but as Delia watched on they hardened into furious determination.

"What do you think Ash?" Deila asked quietly. She was suspicious that the choice had been taken out of their hands long before the adults even became aware of the situation.

"I promised I would take care and love Amaura," the boy answered as he looked up to meet his mother's eyes having been snapped back to reality. "And that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"You promised?" Lance questioned confusedly.

"You never told us how you found the fossil," Delia said gently, never taking her warm eyes off her son. "You didn't just stumble upon it by accident did you?"

"No," Ash agreed before launching into the story about the Absol. The aura adapt made sure to stress how certain he was that they were ancient and powerful beings who knew what they were doing. By the time Ash finished all the adults other than Kukui looked pale and tired, like a giant weight had been placed on their shoulders. Poor Kukui just seemed to be in shock.

"Pokemon like the Absol you met don't just randomly gain that sort of age and power," Oak said jadedly as he rested his face in his hands. "Especially considering their task of protecting the fossils. They were most likely assigned to the mountain and given their power by a Legendary."

"Are you saying that a Legendary wanted me to have the fossil?" Ash asked feeling floored.

"Most likely yes," the old professor answered.

"Why?"

"We don't know for certain but we think the Legends have been preparing you for something for awhile now," Deila responded, deciding to be honest. Ash was on a journey now and she couldn't protect him from everything in the world anymore. But she could help him protect himself by giving him the information he needed to know. "They use to play with you when you very young. You would come home and tell me stories of Pokemon you described with a description that would fit the Legendary Beasts and rarely some others. I thought you were just playing pretend, basing the creatures off the bedtime stories I told you. Then one day when you were eight you came home looking for books about legendaries, you said you were going to prove to me they were real. The next day when you went out to play you begged to borrow my camera so that you could get evidence. Later that day when you came home and I asked you about it you said you had been out playing with Gary. When I questioned you about the beasts you had no recollection of playing with them or even ever seeing them! You thought I was crazy. You also had no idea why you had my camera, you knew you had asked to borrow it but couldn't remember why. That was the last time we ever spoke of legendaries. A few weeks later I was going through my camera roll and you could imagine my surprise when I came upon this," Delia stopped to take out her own pokenav and pull something before handing the device to Ash.

Ash's hands shook. He dimly realized he was starting to hyperventilate, Ziggy, Fletcher and Rayna crowded around him in support. The picture on the screen that was a clear selfie of himself and the Legendary Beasts. An eight year old version of himself was snuggled into Suicune side as the spirit of the north wind itself nuzzled the top of his head desperately, its eyes were shut tight and tears leaking out of the corners. Ash knew the great beast was heartbroken about something. Raikou lay at his feet on its back, paws up and tongue rolling like an over excited Growlithe. Entei stood behind Suicune looking protectively down on all of them all.

"Why is Suicune crying?" Ash asked, his voice breaking as he tried to hold back tears of his own. He _knew_ these Pokemon. There was a well of emotion inside of him dedicated to these Pokemon that he was just now becoming aware of again but couldn't access. He instinctively knew that he cared deeply about the beasts but had no idea how. Or why.

"I think because it had to say goodbye," Deila answered as she came to kneel in front of Ash and grab his hands. "I think this photo is how they wanted you to remember them."

"I don't remember them at all? Why don't I remember?" Ash dumbly realized he was crying now.

"We don't know," Lance replied as he rubbed the boy's shoulders. Ash noted numbly as he rubbed his eyes that Kukui, Oak and Steven were gone.

"But they wanted you guys to know about them," Ash stated. As far as he knew this picture was the first and only photograph of the Legendary Beasts. If Legendaries didn't want a picture of themselves to be taken it wouldn't be taken. The one Ash was looking at right now had obviously been deliberately on their part.

"We have a lot of theories as to why they wiped your memory and left this photo behind, but there just that, theories," Delia said. "Each more ridiculous than the last. It's been hard knowing that your memory was erased and I could do nothing to stop it but I've learned to trust at least Suicune. Looking at this picture it obvious it loves you and I know it would never do anything to hurt you. Call it a mother's intuition." The last comment enticed a small half smile form Ash.

"Do you think it was Suicune who wanted me to have the fossil?" Ash questioned numbly.

"We have no way of kn…"

"Ri! Ri ri ri, ri rio!" The three humans turned to look at a eagerly nodding Rayna that was standing by Ash's left side.

"Are you sure," the raven head asked.

The fighting type grabbed one of her trainers hand with both her paws and nodded firmly once more.

Ash took a deep breath and set his gaze once more on the fossil still sitting on the desk.

"I need to be the one to raise that Amaura."

"We know," Lance told him. "We'll make sure of it. No one is going to take it away from you, definitely not after hearing how you found it."

"Thanks," Ash said sincerely as a feeling a relief swept through him. He didn't know how he was going to raise or protect it but he'd figure it out when the time came. For now he was content with the knowledge that no one was going to take the Amaura away from him.

"Of course sweetie. Now why don't you introduce us to your new Pokemon," Delia said trying to switch the conversation onto a happier topic.

"That really is one big Noibat," Lance added offhandedly.

Ash happily presented his two new flying types to his parents. Lance was quick to take Ziggy from him, wanting to hold the giant Sound Wave Pokemon himself while Delia and gently petted Fletcher on the head.

"My new catch from today should be around here somewhere," Ash said hiding his mischievous grin as sent a quick text to Steven.

"Another one already?" Delia asked.

"Well I did come here mostly to catch lots of rare Pokemon. I rather struggle in the beginning with a large team and have all year to train them then catch half of them later and not have a lot of time to prepare them for the league."

"You're not going to have much extra spending money for the first few months with all the extra gear and food you'll have to buy," Delia warned.

"I know, but it'll be worth it," Ash answered with a shrug. "Anyways, she was just h…"

 _ **CRASH**_

In the far corner of the room a fake Yule tree fell through a closet door onto the floor. Riding on top of the falling noble fir was Vulpix. The ice type shook her head cutely as she righted herself after landing hard before taking off after an escaping tree ornament that had fallen off the tree.

"Is that a Vulpix?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, she's one of the special Alolan forms. She's an ice type," Ash answered. A smirk was already playing across his lips.

"You think I don't know how to handle ice types by now?" the Dragon Master said when he caught the look on the boys face. He knelt down to examine the Fox Pokemon, plucking the delicate decoration off the ground before Vulpix could damage it. "You really believe it's possible to become Champion without finding ways around type weakness?"

"Vulpix will become a dual ice and fairy type when she evolves."

Lance froze, the hand he had outstretched to pet the innocent fluffy white creature in front of him went still. Vulpix, seeing an opportunity to have some fun, butted her head against the Champions still suspended hand trying to act as adorable as possible.

"Ice and fairy together?" Lance asked, not quite able to hide his horror. "That's a thing now?"

"That's a thing now," Ash answered with crossed arms and a nod, feeling way to self-satisfied.

"I'm surprised you didn't know they existed," Delia said as she bent down to scoop Vulpix up, her tone both teasing and chastising. The Fox Pokemon cried happily and nuzzled into the woman's shoulder. "I thought you would be well educated on any Pokemon that could be a threat to you, being a Champion that favors dragon types and all. Even with the Alolan Ninetails being from a far off isolated region I think it would be at the top of your list of Pokemon to look out for."

"My mistake," the red head said seriously as he considered the creature in Delia's arms. "I'll do a study on Alola's pokedex next time I have the chance."

"And here I was thinking this was gonna be a funny moment." The trio looked to the left to find Steven standing on the staircase, the camera of his pokenav pointed towards them.

"Really?" Lance deadpanned, looking extremely exasperated.

Steven shrugged, an amused smile on his face. Since when did he ever pass of the chance to make fun of Lance. Especially since most of the time he made it so easy. The Steel Masters eyes caught glow of the shimmering bobble in his best friends hand.

"What's that?"

"A Yule ornament Vulpix was playing with."

"What's it say?" Delia asked as she examined the glittery gold letters peaking out from under Lance's hand.

"Noel," The Dragon Master answered after flipping the decoration over.

"Hmm," the woman hummed as she considered the ice type in her arms. "Add and extra L and E to the end of that and you get Noelle, a feminine name that means Yule. I think the masculine spelling is no different than the word but I'm not one hundred percent sure."

"Noelle," Ash tested the name out on his tongue. Vulpix titled her head to the side, also thinking over the potential nickname for herself.

"I like it," Ash finally said after a few moments consideration. The name seemed like a good salute to Vulpixs roots wintery roots while also evoking a feeling of warmth and happiness. "What do you think Vulpix?"

"Vul!" The Fox Pokemon answered exuberantly, ecstatic with the new name. I wasn't a perfect fit for her personality but she liked the way it sounded and that it would always remind her first day with her new trainer.

"Then that's what we'll call you. Welcome to the family Noelle."

* * *

 **FINALLY DONE! This chapter came out a lot quicker than the last one. And a lot longer too! 12,000 words! I am ridiculously proud of that number.**

 **There's also a lot more plot in this chapter than I was planing but it happened and I like it. Don't expect any major events involving legendaries for awhile but it's pretty obvious at this point that they're watching Ash. Why? Only I get to know that for now!**

 **What do you guys think of Noelle? I think she's a little cutie that's also a sarcastic mischievous little shit. I seriously considered making her male and naming her Loki. But, you know, we can't always have nice things.**

 **My plan going into writing this chapter was just for Ash to stumble upon the fossil in the cave but as I starting writing that part it didn't make much sense to me. So I did some more research and let my muse take me where it wanted to go and now we have the international scientific clusterfuck we're now in. Which logically speaking I hope makes sense. What do you guys think?**

 **I also wanted to address a review I got. An guest reviewer told me that they'd like to read my story but couldn't get past that 10 year old's are being let out into the field by themselves unsupervised in a world with a high crime rate. At first I was just gonna write the review off as someone who didn't bother to read the entire first chapter until I started wondering if I'm the one that made the mistake in my writing. Did I make it clear that raised the starting age to 13? And yeah Team Rocket's on the loose but for the most part encounters with them are rare. Ash, Ella, Jonathan and Gary have to be careful because there's reasons Team Rocket might target them. Which is exactly why all 4 of them will have a chaperon with them at all times until they're strong enough to defend themselves. I mostly just wanted to make sure people got that. You guys got that right? (me being paranoid)**

 **LAST THING! I'm visiting family in Portugal for the next two weeks! While that make It seem like I don't have a lot of time to write I actually do. Last week was the vacationy part of my trip in Lisbon and the rest will just be hanging out at my aunts house. They we'll go swimming and might have a touristy day or two but mostly I'm hanging out in the living room writing while my family watches Portuguese sitcoms (my biggest regret in life is not learning to speak Portuguese as a kid). My goal is to have another chapter out before I leave!**

 **So ta ta for now! AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!...it makes me happy**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ash's Pokemon**

 **Rayna: A Riolu and Ash's starter.**

 **Known Moves: Quick Attack, Foresight, Force Palm, Counter and Blinding Rush (combo of quick attack and force palm).**

 **Ziggy: A Noibat**

 **Known Moves: Tackle, Supersonic, Screech, Absorb, Gust and Confusion Bell (combo of supersonic and absorb).**

 **Fletcher: A Rowlet**

 **Known Moves: Tackle, Leafage, Growl and Peck. Is currently still recovering from starvation and not training or battling.**

 **Noelle: An Alolan Vulpix**

 **Known Moves: Powder Snow, Roar, Baby-Doll Eyes and Tail Whip.**

 **Amaura Fossil**

* * *

Ash sighed tiredly as he cast another Magikarp back into the water and cast his line back out. Monday afternoon was wearing on, he had yet to pull up a Feebas and his time was running out. After today Ash only had two more full days left in Alola. Tomorrow he had to meet Mikiko for their rematch and was hoping to explore another part of the Islands earlier in the day. And Wednesday Ash needed to give a presentation to Professor Kukui's class.

Before Oak had left Saturday night Ash had confronted him about the about the surprise public speaking requirement for his trip. The professor had been sheepish about forgetting to inform him about it but reassured the boy that it would be easy. All he wanted Ash to do was lecture about was how the gym and league system worked in the rest of the world, maybe throw in some information about contests while he was at it. So, Ash had sacrificed a few hours a sleep that night to put together a presentation like the ones he used to do in school. It wasn't perfect but at least now it was done with and out of the way.

Oak, Steven, Lance and Delia had left not long after they arrived Saturday night. And as much as Ash was disappointing in the decision, he understood why Steven took the fossil with him. The Steel Type Master would keep the petrified remains safe until Ash was back in Kanto and had his chaperon with him. As hard as it was to believe apparently seemingly peaceful Alola had a wannabe Team Rocket. Team Skull was nowhere near as big or ferocious as their counterparts around the rest of the world but could still pose a threat if they somehow figured out what Ash was carrying.

Sunday the new trainer had spent entirely on Brooklet Hill searching for a Feebas with no luck. He had been given the chance to battle lots of trainers though. He won most his battles adding needed money to his growing bank account. He also got the opportunity to work with his team. Ziggy continued to work to perfect his moves and flying to Ash's standards. His flying still had a very long ways to go but his moves were all coming along well, Ash was looking forward to getting him started on learning a new move soon. Now that Rayna had mastered Blinding Rush Ash had tasked her with learning Endure. Endure was a normal type beginner move that did exactly what it sounded like it did. It pumped a Pokémon full of Normal Type energy and allowed it to endure an attack with minimal damage. It also made it impossible for a Pokémon to be knocked out while using the move. Ash was confident that Rayna could master it in a week. Lastly, the trainer finally got around to evaluating Noelle's moves. The ice type had Powder Snow down like no one's business. Noelle could manipulate the move in ways Ash hadn't thought possible. The attack usually just blew snow in chilling gusts at opponents, but Noelle had learned how to discretely concentrate the attack on one point to form the sheets of ice she always had people tripping on. The Vulpix had neglected her other status moves though so Ash sent her off to perfect those. Noelle had been pouty about it but haven't complained.

"Noi?"

Ash was broken out of his distracted ADHD driven thoughts by Ziggy. The Sound Wave Pokémon was pointing at Ash's fishing rod which was now jerking weakly signally that a Pokémon was on the other end. Ash hoisted the rod up and started to reel his catch in. Whatever was caught on the line wasn't putting up much of a fight making the boys job much easier than usual. Quicker than normal the Pokémon broke the surface of the water revealing itself to what Ash had been after for so long. A Feebas.

"Ziggy! Supersonic!" the boy cried as he bounced on his feet. He finally found one! He wasn't about to let it get away!

Instead of jumping into action like the usually over eager dragon he was Ziggy hesitated, looking between his trainer and the Feebas.

"Noi, noi?" Ziggy squeaked as he pointed at the water type, his voice full of dubiousness.

For the first time Ash took the time to take a good look at his catch. And he didn't like what he was seeing. The Feebas was watching him wearily not making any attempt to escape, not that Ash thought it could even if it wanted to. It was obviously sick. The poor things eyes were bulging in a way that didn't have to do with fear or shock. its abdomen looked swollen while still managing to appear way to skinny and there were weird squiggly red lines running along it's fins and body.

Ash dug in his pocket and pulled out some water type food before approaching the Fish Pokémon slowly.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," the boy said as he inched closer. Feebas continued to watch him closely but made no moves to try to run. When Ash was within arm distance he knelt, presenting the food to the water type. The Fish Pokémon didn't try to eat the food, but it nudged its head against Ash's hand weakly while looking up at him with its big eyes pitifully. In that moment Ash instinctively knew that if he didn't help this Pokémon it would die. Feebas grabbed onto Ash's fishing line was a last-ditch effort to survive, it no longer had the strength to swim up to the surface on its own.

"Bag please," Ash called as he beckons backwards with his hand at his team without taking his eyes off Feebas.

Noelle quickly dragged the bag over to her trainers' side before backing away and giving her trainer room to work. The boy was fast to retrieve his only super potion before turning back to the fish.

"This potion is going to help you, but I have to touch you to use it and it's gonna sting at first. Is that okay?"

The Feebas wiggled closer to him, its large eyes fixed on the potion clearly desperate for any kind of relief. Ash slowly lower his hand into the water and used it to carefully turn Feebas over, exposing one of its sides out of the water. The boy was then quick to spray a few squirts of the super potion over its brown scales before doing the same on the other side. The water type squeezed it eyes shut from the pain but didn't move.

"All done," the trainer said happily as he released Feebas. The Fish Pokémon swam in a small circle close to the shore appearing better but not cured. Its eyes seemed less enlarged and the red lines had receded immensely but not entirely. The water type clearly needed a Pokémon Center and a restoration machine if it was gonna live. Ash had just bought it a few extra days.

"Hey Feebas," The boy called softly hoping that the Pokémon wasn't just gonna swim away. Thankfully it didn't. The water type came right back to the shore as quick as its feeble body allowed, the beginning of trust forming in its eyes.

"You need more help than I can give you. The super potion obviously didn't heal you completely and I don't want to risk giving you anymore. With how weak and frail you are right now you could over dose. I can take you to someone who can help though. But to do that I'll need to catch you. I'll let you go later if that's what you want but I'd really like it if you stayed. But we can talk about that later, right now we need to get you feeling better."

Feebas watched him carefully for a moment before easing its head out of the water.

"Fee," its deep voice said giving Ash the approval he needed.

"Alright, once you're in the ball you wouldn't be in anymore pain until I release you at the Pokémon Center." After saying that Ash gently pressed an empty pokeball onto Feebas's head who was effortlessly drawn inside. The ball dinged as soon as it closed.

Ash stood up and threw his bag over his shoulder, not bothering to take the time to put away his fishing gear. He could carry it just fine. Fletcher jumped up towards Ash's belt to return himself before his trainer asked him to eager to speed up the process, the others beside Rayna all following in his lead. Trainer and started then took off towards the Pokémon Center as fast as their legs could carry them.

* * *

"It's a bacterial infection," Nurse Joy said as she looked over the Feebas. "See that small scar by her gills. It's newly healed so I think you unwittingly took care of the cut when you gave her the super potion. It's also most likely where she got the infection. Feebas are usually hardy Pokémon that can live in extremely dirty water but if any of that dirt gets someplace that's not meant to deal with it like a vein…Well this is usually what happens.

"Is she gonna be all right?" Ash asked from beside the nurse, Rayna on his shoulder.

"Feebas need some antibiotics and will have to spend a few hours in the restoration machine but she'll be ready to go by morning," Nurse Joy answered with a smile as she pointed to the fish in the tank. "And look closely. She's already looking fuller. Fish like Pokémon don't really gain or lose weight too much. They just suck it all in when they don't feel well to help themselves keep warm."

"Thank goodness," the boy breathed as he placed a hand on the tank the water type was in. "You hear that Feebas, you're gonna be okay!"

The Fish Pokémon butted her head against where Ash's hand was on the glass, shooting him as much of a smile as the shape of its lips allowed. The boy had no idea how she could understand them through the tank but wrote it off as a Pokémon's hearing usually being much better than a humans.

"Will you be staying the night?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Yeah," Ash answered not seeing much of a choice. There was no way he was going to leave Feebas alone. "Where's your phones?"

"They're in the media room to the left of the lobby. When your done in there you can swing by the front desk to get your room key."

"Great. Thanks for all your help Nurse Joy."

"Think nothing of it," the medic said with a warm smile. "It's what I'm here for."

* * *

"Do you wanna have a double battle?"

Ash looked away from the map he was studying of Route 5 to find two small girls looking up at him. They were obviously twins, wearing matching blue sundresses with big floppy orange collars and pockets. Both wore their medium length mousy brown hair in pig tails covered by white sunhats. They couldn't have been older that nine.

Ash had decided to go explore the route neighboring the Pokémon Center Feebas was staying in to pass the time the water type was in the restoration machine. The boy was slightly frustrated that he hasn't even gotten out of view of the iconic red roof before he was challenged to a battle but could admit that the two girls piped his interest.

"A battle?" Ash asked confused. These two were way too young to have trainers' licenses.

"Yeah!" One of the girls shouted happily. "We're..."

"Junior trainers!" the other sister finished.

"Ah," Ash mused. That should have been obvious. Junior trainers were trainers on training wheels. Instead of going to school some family's chose to teach their children themselves. Kids with a junior training permit couldn't leave whatever city or route they lived on without adult supervision, couldn't have more than two Pokémon, couldn't challenge any gyms or enter any leagues and couldn't battle a trainer with more than two badges. There were other restrictions but those were the big ones.

"Did you say you wanted a double battle?" the teen asked. He hasn't yet taken part in one of those yet and wasn't quite sure he was ready for one. The twins obviously had experience working together and Ash didn't want to get his butt kicked by two kids not even in their double digits.

"Yeah!" said the girl on the right.

"We want to be the best double battlers in the world!" finished the girl on the left.

Ash still wasn't entirely sure his team was ready for this but was having a hard time working up the courage to tell the girls no. Their well-practiced puppy dog eyes were working to their full effect on him.

"What do you think Rayna?" Ash asked, taking the cowards way out and leaving the decision in his Pokémon's hands. The fighting type that was sitting on his shoulder gave her trainer a light thump on the head for turning the situation on her before considering the girls. How hard could it be to beat two small children? Then she could make Ash deal with them if they started crying when they lost as revenge.

"Ri!" Rayna yipped confirmation as she dropped down to the ground pumped to go.

"Yay!" the girls cheered holding each other's hands and jumping around excitedly in a circle.

"Maybe we should have our battle at the Pokémon Center. There's no need to destroy anything with a battle field so close by," Ash said as he watched the girls carefully not entirely too sure what he had just gotten himself into.

"That's a good idea," Girl 1 said as she grabbed Ash's hand and dragged him in the direction of the Center. "I'm Nico!"

"And I'm Isa!" Girl 2 said from behind them after somehow picking up a bewildered Rayna.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ash."

"Oooo Ash! That's..." Isa said.

"A cool name," Nico finished.

"What kind of..."

"Pokémon is Rayna?"

"You said her name was Rayna, right?" The last sentence the girls said together, sending an unpleasant shiver down Ash's spine.

"Yeah, her name's Rayna. She's a Riolu, a fighting type from Sinnoh."

"Ooo Sinnoh," Nico said as she started to skip while still jostling Ash along with her.

"That's a long way away," Isa commented.

"Are you from Sinnoh?" They both asked together, large innocent smiles on their face like they had no idea what they were doing to Ash's mental health.

"No, I'm from Kanto." The teen was starting to seriously consider pulling his hand out of the Nico's no matter how rude it might be.

"Ooo Kanto."

"That's a long way away."

Thankfully for Ash and Rayna's sake they were approaching the Pokémon Center, the automatic doors opening to let them in. Nurse Joy looked up when they entered and smirked when she caught sight of the twins.

"Girls, I hope you're not giving this young man any trouble."

"Nope Nursey, we're..."

"Just gonna go battle."

"Well then I'll be waiting here for you when you finish," Joy said as she continued to smirk. "Have fun."

"We will Nursey!" The twins echoed.

As the twins dragged him away Ash sent a questioning look over his shoulder at Nurse Joy how just mouthed 'good luck' in return.

The trainer was soon pulled through another pair of automatic doors leading to the battle fields. Lucky for Ash the twins picked the nearest field, disposing of their opponent and his started at the first box before skipping over to their own.

"Ready Ash?" called Isa.

"Ready!" the boy answered palming his pokeballs. It was a given he was gonna use Rayna for this battle and now he just needed to decide if he wanted to also use Ziggy or Noelle.

"Go Cottonee!" yelled Isa as she released her Pokémon.

"You're up Petilil!" shouted Nico as she threw her pokeball.

The Pokémon Isa released looked like a cotton ball with eyes and tiny arms made from leaves and was one of the weirdest Pokémon Ash had ever seen. Not that Petilil was much better. The tiny green Pokémon's body looked like a bud of flower with eyes. It was somehow balancing on a skirt thing Ash guessed was supposed to be its legs. The three little leaves sticking out of its head completed the ridiculous look. Blinking perplexedly Ash pulled out his pokedex.

" _Petilil, the Bud Pokémon. A grass type. Petilil prefer clean water and soil. When the environment they live in turns bad, the whole bunch will up and move to a new area."_

" _Cottonee, the Cotton Puff Pokémon. A grass and fairy type. When attacked, it expels cotton from its body to create a diversion. The cotton it loses grows back in quickly."_

'Okay' Ash thought. 'Both grass types so look out for status moves like poison and stun powders. Ziggy will be in big trouble if Cottonee has any fairy type moves and Noelle has type advantage over grass. But on the other hand, Ziggy has more experience and gets along well with Rayna. I've never battled with Noelle before and she's still settling into the team.' It was a hard decision to make.

"Let's go Noelle!" Ash exclaimed as he threw his pokeball, releasing the fluffy Pokémon.

"Vul!" the Fox Pokémon cried as she appeared, taking note of her opponents and Rayna by her side.

In the end the risk of Ziggy getting hit with a fairy type move was too big a risk to take now. One or two hits and he was out, and Rayna already had the same disadvantage. No need to add another to the mix. Things might have been different if the dragon could fly better but he couldn't so Ash would just have to hope Noelle could pull through.

"Ooo!" Nico squealed. "She's so pretty!"

Noelle puffed up at the complement but never took her eyes off her opponents proving that she must have had some battle experience in the wild.

"You girls can have the first move!" Ash called eager to see how good they were.

"START!" Both girls shouted simultaneously.

Roots appeared from the insides of Cottonee's leaf like arms and plunged into the ground, soaking up nutrients and strength from the earth. Ash was more worried about Petilil though who had launched two consecutive Leech Seeds at his Pokémon.

"Dodge!" Ash called. "Rayna use Blinding Rush on Petilil! Noelle use Powered Snow to turn their side of the field into an ice rink!"

"Get out of there Cottonee!"

"Mega Drain Petilil!"

"Vul!" Noelle called as she launched her attack. She aimed Powder Snow first at Cottonee forcing it to abandon Growth before slicking up the battle field. Where ever Cottonee hopped Noelle aimed Powder Snow at, forcing it to keep moving and not counterattack. Sooner or later it wasn't going to be able to avoid the attack.

Rayna and Petilil zipped around each other. Dodging and trying to attack at the same time. Surprisingly Petilil was quick. Neither Pokémon could land a hit.

Things were going the way Ash wanted so far. Petilil and Cottonee were too busy dodging to work together. The teen was under no illusions that if the two Pokémon kept throwing combination moves at him, he could win. His team hadn't been trained for double battles yet. While Ash was certain Noelle could outlast Cottonee (her Powder Snow really is impressive) he wasn't so sure Rayna could beat Petilil in their competition of endurance. The young trainer had a bad feeling the Bulb Pokémon had Chlorophyll, an ability that boosts a Pokémon's speed in the sun. Rayna was gonna need a little help if she was going to win.

"Target Petilil Noelle!" Ash called. If this was gonna work Noelle was gonna have to time it perfectly. And she did just that. The second Cottonee was forced to jump again Noelle turned her head and aimed a full power Powder Snow at Petilil. The Bud Pokémon tried to dodge but was knocked back into Noelle's line of fire by Rayna taking the opportunity to land a brilliant Blinding Rush.

"Pet!" the Pokémon cried as it was hit with the super effective attack. Petilil was blasted back to the end of the field, skidding on the ground hard as it came to a stop.

"Finish it Rayna!"

"Fairy Wind!" Isa commanded Cottonee, unleashing the attack Ash had been fearing.

"Sleep Powder Petilil!" Nico called.

"Get out of there!" The teen shouted desperately. But it was too late. Rayna had been too close to Petilil to entirely avoid the weak Sleep Powder. Although the attack didn't put her to sleep it greatly hindered her getaway allowing Cottonee to hit her full on with Fairy Wind. Poor Rayna was thrown away like a rag doll by the powerful attack. When Rayna hit the ground, she didn't get back up. Unconscious or asleep the boy didn't know. Nor did it really make a difference. This battle was over for her.

Ash returned Rayna quickly and tucked her pokeball away on his belt. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Rayna beat but it never got any easier. The sting of losing combined with the guilt of seeing his Pokémon get hurt was never enjoyable.

"Vul!"

The boy's eyes turned to Noelle to find her smirking determinedly at him. She wasn't at all discouraged that her partner had been knocked out. If anything, Noelle was raring to go avenge Rayna.

Ash shot his newest Pokémon his own smirk, feeding on her attitude.

"Finish Petilil."

"Sleep Powder again!" Nico commanded desperately.

"Protect Petilil with Fairy Wind Cottonee!"

Noelle drew in a large breath as she waited for the last second to dodge Fairy Wind. The instant the ice type jumped to the side she released Powder Snow, making sure to get nowhere near close enough to Petilil to be affected by its measly Sleep Powder. The Bulb Pokémon gave a weak cry when hit again before quickly succumbing to the effective attack.

Noelle took a moment to catch her breath while she waited for Nico to recall her Pokémon, squaring up with the Cotton Puff Pokémon across the field. It was just her and Cottonee now. Noelle had type advantage but Cottonee was a lot less tired. Victory could go to anyone.

"Stun Wind Cottonee!"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what combination that was and Ash wanted no part in it.

"Dodge and use Baby-Doll Eyes!"

Cottonee shook itself to release its stun spores from its cotton tufts as it fired Fairy Wind from its large mouth. Some of the stun spores got caught up in the gust generated by Fairy Wind and were blown towards Noelle. As it attacked Cottonee made the mistake of looking at Noelle. When their eyes met Noelle's flashed pink for a brief second before she bounded away to avoid the incoming move. While it didn't appear like Baby-Doll Eyes did any noticeable damage but Cottonee was starting to struggle to keep up its attack just like Ash had hoped for. Instead of accepting that it's attack was just a little bit weaker after being hit with the status move Cottonee was putting in more effort to keep the same intensity going, tiring it out much faster.

Ash let the game of cat and mouse continue for a while. The fairy type was spending energy much quicker now, Noelle and Ash just needed to wait for the right moment to make their move. An older trainer would figure out what he was up to in an instant and change tactics but the twins weren't experienced enough to know, they just enthusiastically cheered Cottonee on. Finally, when their opponent was starting to huff and puff from exertion Ash made his move.

"Powder Snow!"

"Dodge!"

Cottonee might have gotten away if it hadn't slipped and fallen on one of the melting sheets of ice from the beginning of the battle making it helpless to move as a strong flurry of snow hit the grass type, sending it tumbling to the other side of the field. When the gust cleared Cottonee was face planted into the ground, shriving from the shiny particles of ice stuck all over it.

Noelle toddled back to Ash's side. It looked like she hadn't been able to entirely avoid the stun spores that had been spread around the field by Isa's combination attack. That said, she was still in a lot better shape than their opponent. Even though Cottonee wasn't unconsciousness yet their victory was all but assured. The only thing could make that change was if Isa had some healing move up her sleeve, but Ash would wait to see what she would do before ordering Noelle to attack again.

Isa looked to be on the verge of tears as she raised her pokeball and returned Cottonee, officially ending the battle. Nico plopped herself onto the ground beside her sister, holding her face with both hands and pouting dejectedly.

"Great job Noelle!" Ash cried, and he picked his newest Pokémon up and swung her around not minding the stinging on his arms from the Stun Spores still clinging to Noelle. Somehow with only one damage dealing attack in her arsenal she'd taken their team to victory mostly by herself in her first trainers battle. The twin's inexperience and type advantage had a lot to do with their win, but it was still impressive nonetheless.

Now though the thirteen-year-old was faced with two distraught children and wasn't exactly sure what to do. He didn't have much experiences with kids younger than himself. 'Well', Ash mused to himself. 'If they want to be trainers, I'll treat them like trainers.'

"Nice battle guys," Ash said sincerely as he approached the twins, offering his hand to help Nico up.

Nico looked up at him glumly but took the offered appendage anyway and let the boy help get her back on to her feet.

"You guys have a lot of great strategies and combinations, but you weren't very good at figuring out mine. In fact I don't think you were even trying to. And you didn't have a plan about what to do if your Pokémon were separated. If your aiming to be double battlers you can expect most if not all experienced opponents will employ that strategy against you."

"We didn't know that," Nico whispered as she and her sister looked up at Ash with sparkling eyes, hanging on every word that came out of his mouth.

"I think you two are really talented and can go far with the right push. Why aren't you guys in Pokémon School?"

"The only school is on Melemele and we don't have a way to get there," Isa said sadly, a whine in her voice.

"What about online?"

"Online?" The twins echoed shocked.

"Sure. There's some great international school's online for kids just like you guys that live to far from a local institution to attend. It's not as good an education as having someone to work with you in person but it's better than nothing."

"Ooo online," Nico breathed in wonder, bouncing back to her cheerful self.

"We can do that!" Isa added exuberantly. "Let's go ask mom!"

Before Ash could blink the twins were gone and the door into the Center sliding shut behind them. Frankly he was grateful. They were cute in the way all little kids were but their mood swings were giving him whiplash.

"Come one," the teen sighed as he hoisted Noelle up farther in his arms. "Let's go get you and Rayna checked out."

* * *

The next morning Ash and his Pokémon once again found themselves on Brooklet hill for the last time. The only one missing was Feebas, still in her pokeball that Ash was turning over in his hands thoughtfully. Just like he promised he was going to give her the chance to go free if she wanted.

Last night after Rayna and Noelle had been healed they'd all spent a few hours in Feebas's room getting to know each other. While his Pokémon had played together Ash had leaned back against Feebas's tank and revealed to her all his hopes and dreams. The Fish Pokémon had listened in a way the others hadn't, it's large but soft eyes watching him almost fondly. The water type had turned enthused though when Ash turned the conversation to herself. The boy had promised to make her the strongest Milotic in the world while assuring her that there was a prism scale waiting for her back in Pallet if she wanted it.

Knowing Kiawe would be arriving to take them back to Melemele any minute now Ash clicked the button of Feebas's pokeball, releasing her into the water. The Fish Pokémon seemed confused by its surrounding at first before spotting Ash and swam as close to the shore as it could.

"Fee?" the Pokémon questioned mournfully as she looked up at them with its big eyes. Ash was worried Feebas was about to start crying.

"We're not leaving you if you wanna come with us. But I did promise if you didn't want to stay I wasn't gonna make you," Ash said gently catching onto what was upsetting Feebas. "If you wanna go it's now or never though."

The Fish Pokémon looked back at its home for one long minute before turning back to the trainer and his Pokémon. While leaving was slightly bittersweet her decision had been made last night.

"Fee!" Feebas vocalized excitably. She had become as strong as she could in this little pond. It was time to evolve and see the world!

"Great!" Ash said as he pointed the pokeball in his hand toward Feebas, returning the Fish Pokémon.

"I just caught a Feebas!" the young teen shouted for joy as he pumped his fist holding Feebas's pokeball in the air while jumping up and down happily. His Pokémon were quick to join in the celebrations, thankful their hunt had finally come to an end.

"Well," Ash said as he settled down and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I mean technically I caught her yesterday..."

All the Pokémon sweat dropped.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride," Ash told Kiawe as he hopped off Charizard. "We could have walked but that would have shaved a few hours out of the day."

"No problem," Kiawe answered. "If you're going into Digglet Tunnel I wouldn't go farther than the first level. It's a rather short tunnel but it's still under construction and it's easy to get lost in there."

"Stay on the bottom part. Got it," the younger boy answered with a smile.

"Good," the older teen answered as Charizard flapped his wings and took to the air once more. "See you later!"

"Bye!" Ash waved back as the fire type trainer and fire type left. The boy didn't wait for the duo to completely disappear over the horizon before turning to the entrance of the tunnel. He had a rare Pokémon to find and only eight hours to do it. Normally he would have aimed for something easier to find with his short time limit but he'd heard rumors in the Pokémon center last night that the construction had stirred his prey up, making them much more common to come across than usual.

Ash released Rayna, Ziggy and Noelle as he took if first steps down into the large tunnel lighted by electric lamps nailed to the sides. He was hoping Rayna and Ziggy's combined aura sight and echo location could help them find their quarry quickly. Noelle's task was to take care of any Zubat or Digglet that got in their way that Ash would be scouting for with his own aura sight.

After a good twenty minutes the steep slope before the ground leveled out into the actual tunnel. Down here water dripped slowly down the sides of the cave into small puddles on the ground. Work carts full of rocks were lined up in out of the way places, waiting to be brought back up to the surface.

"Hold on," Ash called as Ziggy was about to step further into the dampness. "There," the trainer pointed upwards towards a corner of the ceiling that was shrouded in shadows. Not wanting to upset the now found Zubat the group tiptoed around them and carried on.

They continued that way for quite a while, Noelle only having to send a few persistent Digglet and Zubat packing with a well-placed Powder Snow. Not long into their venture Ash was overjoyed to find a fire stone peeking out of the side of the tunnel. It took some digging and chiseling but the stone eventually came free and found a new home in Ash's bag. The boy didn't know if he'd even use it but at least it'd fetch a good price if he was ever in desperate need of money.

"Noi!" Ziggy whisperer shouted as he gestured to a small side tunnel three hours after they'd entered the system.

"Is there one down there?" The boy asked hopefully.

Both Rayna and Ziggy nodded.

"Then let's approach slowly. We don't want to scare it off."

The group entered the smaller diverging tunnel cautiously but had trouble hiding their excitement when they rounded the bend to catch sight of what they were after. Sitting on a large boulder munching on a rock contently was a short stubby green bipedal Pokémon. Dark red scales painted its belly in an oval fashion and black scales ran over its eyes to form the image of a scar.

"Lav?" It questioned curiously as it tilted its large oval shaped head to the side, the fin onto hitting the wall of rock beside it.

"I'm Ash from Pallet town and I've come to challenge you to a battle." The teen was careful to be forceful but not loud. He wanted to earn its respect without scaring it away.

The reptilian creature considered him and his Pokémon for a moment before nodding and rising from its seat, excepting his challenge.

Ash ginned wildly as he pulled his pokedex out to check over the Pokémon's information once more before he battled it.

" _Larvitar, the Rock Skin Pokémon. A rock and ground type. Raised on nutrients it finds in dirt, it eats roughly a mountains worth of dirt before it becomes a pupa."_

"You're up Rayna!"

The fighting type stepped forward as the others made their way to stand by their trainers' side, making sure to give their team mate plenty of room. Larvitar narrowed its eyes and beckoned with its claw for Rayna to take the first move.

"Quick Attack," Ash shouted. He wanted to see what Larvitar would do before he started pulling out his more powerful attacks.

Larvitar grunted slightly as Rayna rammed into it before stomping its foot on the ground, causing all the sand and small loose rocks around them to start flying around in a storm.

"Sandstorm! Really?" Ash complained as he shielded his eyes. "Close your eyes and use aura sight, then Blinding Rush!" The teen ended up taking his own advice and used his aura to see through the storm. Even though his eyes were protected the sand was still stinging at his arms and face and Ash was pretty sure Rayna was suffering through the same pain.

Larvitar roared when Rayna hit it with the effective move sending the heavy Pokémon skidding backwards a few feet. It then roared again as the rocks above and around Rayna started to glow white before being hurled on top of her.

"Endure!" Ash shouted. There was no way she could dodge that big of an attack coming from above in such a confined space. They would just need to hope Rayna had the new move down well enough to pull through the powerful attack.

Rayna crouched down at the last moment and folded her arms against her chest, surrounding herself with a steady but weak golden glow. Even though he knew she was gonna be fine Ash still flinched when a literal rock slide landed onto of his starter.

Everyone held their breath as they waited to see if the fighting type would resurface. After about half a minute the rocks started to shift slightly to reveal a battered but conscious Rayna much to Ash's relief. The good moment didn't last long though. As soon as Larvitar was sure Rayna was standing it once again tried to use what Ash was sure was Rock Slide. When the stone above them started to glow white again Ash withdrew Rayna. She couldn't take another hit and there was no way she could dodge. As much as it killed the trainer this battle was over. He could send another Pokémon out to battle Larvitar but he wouldn't gain its respect. If he were to catch it, he would most likely spend months trying to get it to cooperate and with so many young Pokémon to raise he just didn't have the time for that.

"You're a powerful Pokémon," Ash admitted as he bowed to the victor. "Thank you for the battle."

Larvitar nodded back before picking up the rock it had been snacking on earlier and ambling down farther into the tunnel system.

Ash sighed wearily as he turned back to his team.

"Let's go get Rayna to a Pokémon Center."

* * *

Ash jogged through the streets of Hau'oil city as he made his way towards the Pokémon Center he was supposed to meet Mikiko at for their rematch in the warm evening sun. The city was bustling with people as family's made their way to their favorite dinner spot and young people lit bonfires on the beach in preparation for sunset. If Ash was being honest with himself he wasn't up for a battle tonight. He had just spent almost four hours in a Pokémon Center waiting in line to get Rayna healed and wasn't eager to repeat the process again so soon. He much rather be finding food and enjoying the last few summer nights of the year like everyone else seemed to be doing. But he had told Mikiko he would battle her so battle her he would.

Ash found the young woman on a bench on the sidelines of the Pokémon Centers battle fields completely absorbed in typing away on her pokenav. Mikiko had traded in her hiking clothes for more relaxed beach wear. The boy's keen eyes picked out two pokeballs attached to her belt peeking out from under her tank top rather than just the single one she had carried two days ago.

"Hey," Ash greeted as he approached his opponent, slowing his stride down to an easy walk.

"Hey yourself," Mikiko answered with a friendly smile as she stood. "Catch anything new?"

"Yeah. I'm assuming you have also?"

"Yep! Why don't we make this a quick one on one to test our new Pokémon then get out of here? Tonight doesn't really feel like a night to be spending on a battle field."

"I couldn't agree more," Ash answered as he headed towards his side of the field. It seemed like he wasn't the only one experiencing the nostalgic feeling the last few days of summer brought. If they hurried they might still be able to catch the Sunset.

"Then let's get started!" Mikiko exclaimed as she took her place at the other end of the turf. "Go Phantump!"

Ash blinked at the Pokémon that came into existence in front of him. It was looked like a tiny black ghost that was using a tree stump as a helmet. With its tiny arms and little oval mouth it was surprisingly sort of cute. Ash pulled out his Pokedex and scanned his opponent.

" _Phantump, the stump Pokémon. A ghost and grass type. According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by spirits of children who died while lost in the forest."_

'Not so cute anymore' Ash thought as he felt a shiver go down his spine. While most ghost types were the results of breeding it was hard to forget that they had to originate from somewhere. Usually dead humans and Pokemon.

"Go Noelle!" Ash cried as he threw his Pokeball.

Noelle appeared on their side of the battle field and faced Phantump with a smirk. She didn't seem put off at all to be fighting the living dead.

"Since I started last time why don't you take the first move!" Mikiko called from across the field.

"My pleasure! Noelle use Baby-Doll-Eyes!"

Noelle's eyes glowed a soft pink as she used the status move, and the young and naïve Phantump wonderingly looked straight into the shine effectively lowering it's attack.

Mikiko, who looked a little confused, called for the next attack.

"Confuse Ray!"

Phantump eyes glowed purple as floating purple balls of dark sinister light emerged from them and made their way towards Noelle.

"Dodge then Powder Snow!" Ash ordered.

Noelle easily leaped out of the way of the orbs and fired off her favorite move at the same time.

"Dodge it!" Mikiko cried.

Phantump tried to float out of the way and was successful for the most part but still got clipped in the side by the icy gust. Phantump slipped wildly for a second before righty itself and whining pitifully as it looked down at its freezer burned flingers.

"You're doing great Phantump. Now use Astonish!"

Ash clenched his hands worryingly as Phantump vanished from view. He could use his Aura sight to find it most likely but he wasn't able to do that without outing himself as a Gifted.

"Vul?" Noelle questioned as looked around puzzled.

"It's gonna try to scare you," Ash warned. "Be prepared for it to come from anywhere."

Just as Noelle nodded to signal she understood Phantump appeared a centimeter from her face suddenly screeching like a banshee and pulling it's face into shapes that shouldn't be physically possible, harmful ghost type energy rushing into the Vulpix at the same time. Noelle yipped in fright and scampered backwards tripping over her own two feet in the process.

"Confuse Ray again!" Mikiko called out quickly.

"Get out of there!" Ash cried.

Phantumps eyes glowed purple again and unlike last time Noelle couldn't get out of the way. The purple orbs hit her point blank and each time one hit her Noelle's eyes glowed purple briefly and she became more and more disoriented.

"Use Tackle!" Mikiko shouted seeing her chance to finish the battle.

Ash grit his teeth as he watched Phantump ram into Noelle over and over, the ice type crying out every time as she wobbled helplessly on her normally sure feet. Finally, after Ash was sure the Vulpix wouldn't be snapping out of confusion anytime soon he raised the pokeball in his hand to return Noelle and admitted defeat.

"You did a great job," the boy whisper to the pokeball as he pocketed it. Across the field Mikiko celebrated with Phantump briefly before she too returned her Pokémon.

"That was a good battle," Ash complimented as he offered his hand once Mikiko had joined him once more.

"It was," Mikiko agreed. "A little short but I guess that's what you get when you battle with new Pokémon."

Ash hummed in agreement as he looked up at the sky happy to see that the sun hadn't yet started to sink under the horizon. Being returned to her pokeball would cure Noelle of confusion and he'd have to check her over but all the damage seemed to be superficial. Nothing a potion couldn't fix.

"Why don't we go get dinner?" Mikiko offered. "I'm a student at Lumiose University majoring in Journalism. If it's okay with you I would like to ask you a few questions for my blog about interesting trainers I bump into."

"Err…Sure," Ash answered hesitantly. Mikiko seemed like a cool person who wouldn't take advantage of him. And while he wanted to avoid attention that could lead Team Rocket to him it was inevitable that if he accomplished what he wanted to he'd be getting some media notice eventually. He'd just have to make sure they didn't talk about anything but training.

"Great! There's this place on the water I've keep hearing about that has great grilled Wishiwashi."

"Sounds good. Lead the way."

* * *

 **Hi...Lookie! Another Chapter! So this was suppose to be posted almost half a year ago. I'm so sorry! But...life. What happened was I got home from Portugal and the place I was volunteering was apparently a mess while I was gone and they hired me on full time as soon as I was back. But they also needed me to take a few classes at the same time, and because I apparently wanted to work even more I decided fostered a service dog in training at the same time... But I'm done with all my classes now until October! Karen Pryor's Academy For Professional Dog Trainers here I come! And my foster Puppy Siena is off to prison. Literally, she's in prison competing the intermediate part of her training with incarcerated veterans. All this means more writing time for me! Don't expect regular updates but expect them to be coming at you more often for a little while.**

 **What did you guys think of this chapter? Other than Feebas it felt a little bit like a filler to me but there are some important things in here that will come into play later in the story. We will be seeing Mikiko again. And I thought it was important we see Ash suffer a loss since he's been sorta unbeatable lately and a few of you guys have been questioning Ash catching so many Pokemon so early on. While I personally think it's a great strategy and why I sent Ash to Alola in the first place I agree that there has to be some balance. So no Larvitar will be joining Ash's team any time soon sadly. Ash is only going to get one more addition after getting back to Kanto (guess who?) and that will be it for awhile.**

 **Remember to REVIEW!...it makes me happy**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ash's Pokemon**

 **Rayna: A Riolu and Ash's starter. Female.**

 **Known Moves: Quick Attack, Foresight, Force Palm, Counter and Blinding Rush (combo of quick attack and force palm).**

 **Ziggy: A Noibat, Male**

 **Known Moves: Tackle, Supersonic, Screech, Absorb, Gust and Confusion Bell (combo of supersonic and absorb).**

 **Fletcher: A Rowlet, Male**

 **Known Moves: Tackle, Leafage, Growl and Peck. Is currently still recovering from starvation and not training or battling.**

 **Noelle: An Alolan Vulpix, Female**

 **Known Moves: Powder Snow, Roar, Baby-Doll Eyes and Tail Whip.**

 **Feebas, Female**

 **Moves Unknow**

 **Amaura Fossil**

* * *

Ash tapped his foot nervously on the ground from his place at the back at professor Kukui's classroom as he waited to be called forward. Most of his team ran around the room frolicking with the other Pokémon present, only Fletcher choosing to forgo play in favor of snoozing in Ash's backpack hanging off of desk seat close by. Thankfully the only people occupying the room were Ash's new friends, the Alola gang as he'd started to call them in his mind. His presentation would be videotaped and watched by the rest of the classes whenever was convenient to each teacher. His team ran around the room playing with the other Pokémon present.

He occupied himself by reading the article Mikiko had posted about him on her blog this morning. Thankfully it had nothing but good things to say about him, remarking on his fast growth and strategy of catching a full team quickly and then using the entire season to train them before the league. The two arranged for Ash to keep Mikiko informed on what he was up to so she could give monthly updates on the page she had dedicated to him.

"Ash," Professor Kukui called from the front as he stepped to the side. "Your up."

The boy swallowed harshly as he stepped forward to take his place in front of the white board, reference cards dangling from his hand. Battling in front of people came naturally to him. He only had to play attention to his Pokémon and opponent, his love for the sport helping him easily block the rest of the world out. Representing his home region as part of a classroom lecture…that wasn't so easy.

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region," the trainer started for the cameras sack. Everyone in the room already knew who he was.

"I recently started my Pokémon journey and am extremely fortunate to spend the first week of it here in Alola in exchange for running a special errand here for Professor Oak. Professor Oak is the head regional professor of Kanto and your headmaster's cousin. The other requirement for my trip is introducing you all to how the league and government system works in the other regions."

Ash's foot was tapping on the ground again nervously as he dove right into his cards trying to read as fast as he could while making sure his listeners could still keep up.

"Before you can even become a trainer back home you have to complete at least five years of schooling with at least one of those years dedicated to Pokémon. You can only get your trainers license if you pass the final exam with a 95% or above. As I understand it's the same here. It's after you graduate that things start to differ. From what I've gather in Alola upon graduation you receive your first Pokémon either as a gift or have someone help you catch one for you in the wild. Maybe you've already found a Pokémon partner and all that's happens once you get your license is that the official guardianship of the Pokémon passes from your parents to you. Many of you will continue to chase your career choice with your Pokémon by your side, some will travel for awhile to explore your region and a few will take on the island challenge. By completing the island challenge and continuing to be a trainer of high standing throughout your life you might someday become a Trail Captain or even your islands Kahuna. In the rest of the world our path after graduation is similar in some ways. Besides the island challenge all the paths that you have are available in Kanto and other regions. The biggest difference is the majority of trainers will choose a path you don't have available to you here, to take on the Pokémon League."

"Scattered across the Kanto region are 30 gyms, each home to a strong gym leader whose job it is to protect and lead their city and surrounding area. Overseeing the gyms are the eight strongest gym leaders, the Top Eight, who each oversee two to four different gyms depending on how close they are to each other. They are usually from the eight biggest cities in Kanto. Over the Top Eight are the Elite Four. They are the four strongest trainers in the region who are in charge of everything that comes with running a country. Protecting, infrastructure, trading, policy, etc. They are quite similar to your Kahunas if they all worked together and operated all over the region, not just their island. Above them all is the Champion who leads the region and makes all the final decisions. He or she is also the strongest trainer in the region. Usually gym leaders choose their own predecessor with the approval of the Top Eight or Elite Four and the Elite Four are chosen by the Champion. The Champion wins their place by beating the former Champion in battle. But it's not as simple as simply challenging the Champion. If that were the case he or she would spend all their time battling challengers instead of running the region. No, you have to win the right to battle for the position of Champion."

"Kanto and Johto are a little weird. We share the same Champion and Elite Four. The reason for that is that they are the only two regions share a close border and used to constantly fight over resources hundreds of years ago until they were united by an aura guardian named Kiyoko. It's a long story we wouldn't get into now but it's really interesting and worth looking into if you have the time. Kanto and Johto's Champion, Lance, also is a member of the Elite Four as well as being Champion. When the last Champion, Red, disappeared over a decade ago a lot of people panicked and jumped ship including half of the then Elite Four. Lance has only been able to find one person strong enough and of high moral standings to fill the spot so far, but we have two Elite Four trainees that will be stepping up soon. Lorelei will retire when that happens to peruse her passion as a scientist and Lance will revoke his Elite Four title becoming only Champion."

"To reach that level you start as a beginner trainer just like me and many of you. You travel the region catching Pokémon and training until you feel you're ready to challenge a gym leader. If you win your battle against the gym leader they will award you a badge. At the end of every season if you have eight badges or more you're invited to compete in your regions conference to battle it out for the top spot. This is a critical time for most trainers. Hundreds of people enter each year and the chances of winning are atomically small. What most are really battling for is a job at the league. League jobs are famous for high pay, great benefits, payed time off and early retirement. Your gym badges are your resume, the more from the Top Eight the better. How well you battle and how far you get at the league is your interview. If you're strong and smart enough to win you earn the title as that year's victor and the opportunity to battle the Elite Four and Champion. You have to battle and beat all the Elite Four in order of weakest to strongest to reach the Champion. You are only allowed defeat three times and for every time you lose you have to start over with the weakest Elite Four member. Remember, they've battled you now and know all your tricks. You have a five-year window to use your three attempts. If you defeat the Elite Four you have only one shot at the Champion. If you lose its all over and you have to go back and win your eight gym badges all over again. If you win you become the new Champion and leader of the region."

"Another career path gaining traction in most regions is Contests. Not only do you have to battle and defeat your opponent but you also have to make your Pokémon look as good as possible while doing it. You start with the appeal round where it's just you and your Pokémon showing off your moves to dazzle the crowd and make your Pokémon stand out. It's all about bringing out your Pokémon's potential and helping them really shine. The top ten appeals move onto the battle rounds. In the battles it's you job to beat your opponent while making it look as beautiful and effortless as possible. Every battler has a set number of component points and for each mistake or hit your Pokémon takes you lose points. You can win by knocking out your opponent's Pokémon, your opponent's component score reaching zero or having the most component points when the five-minute timer goes off. If you win the contest you receive a ribbon. You need five ribbons to enter the grand festival at the end of the season. For now, since Contests are still so new the only prize for winning the grand festival is the title, a giant cash prize and the fame. There's no chance to battle last years top coordinator or the champion. You can either start all over in a different region, retire as you can live quite comfortably for most if not the rest of your life off the prize money, or pick up another career. A lot of top coordinators become Pokémon consulates or something similar. I've heard rumors though that Pokémon league officials in Hoenn where Contests started are starting to use Contests as a way to scout out potential employees."

"While making a career out of Pokémon through the league is great and all I can't stress enough how much more you can learn and grow by challenging the gyms and just traveling in general. It's common place in Kanto for every teen 13-15 years of age to travel with their Pokémon even if they don't peruse training professionally. Questions like 'what did you learn on your journey?' often pop up on job applications."

Ash flipped the card he was reading from over only to find it blank. He honestly hadn't been paying to much attention to what he was reading, just hoping to be done as soon as possible. The trainer looked up to find the other teens on the edge of their seats listening intently. Kiawe, Mallow and Lana seemed to be having a hard time containing their excitement while Lille and Sophocles seemed to be deep in thought.

"Ahh…Any Questions?" Ash asked with a shrug feeling confused as of what to do next.

"Are you allowed to enter other regions leagues and contests?" Lana asked quickly with an excited light in her eyes.

"You are," Ash answered with a slight hope blooming in his chest that he might be bumping into some of his new friends on his journey. "You're allowed to enter other regions leagues and battle another regions Champion but if you can only gain the title of Pokémon Master and add the achievement to your resume. You have to actually be a citizen of that region to take his or her place as Champion. But trust me, if you beat another regions Champion or even make it far enough to battle with them your home region will be contacting you with an Elite Four or Top Eight trainee position. I imagine your home islands Kahuna would be reaching out in your guys case."

"How long does the season go for?" Mallow asked.

"September first through the beginning of June. The Indigo Conference and Kanto Grand Festival and in July while the Silver Conference and Johto Grand Festival are in August.

"Is it too late for us to enter this year?" Lana asked nervously, directing her question at Professor Kukui.

"I don't believe so," the professor answered with a comforting smile. "You all have your trainers licenses and the season has only just begun. Whiles there much you can still learn from me here I would say the experiences you would have battling and traveling in a different region far outweigh what I can teach you in a classroom. Especially if any of you want to make Pokémon your livelihood. While you do learn and grow taking on our Island Challenge it just doesn't compare to what's out there in the bigger regions. All our Trail Captains and Kahunas competed and did well in another regions conference or grand festivals sometime in their career as well as beating the Island Challenge. Kahuna Nanu actually won the Vertress Conference in Unova back in his hay day."

"Did he beat any of the Elite Four?" Sophocles asked enthusiastically.

"Nope. Never got passed the first one."

"Aww," the boy moaned looking down disappointed.

"I believe this is a great opportunity for all of you and I encourage you to talk it over with your parents. As this is Ash's last day in Alola and I'm sure you all have a lot of questions to ask him I'm letting you go early as long as you stay on campus. Have a good day everyone!"

* * *

A few hours later Ash watched on with amusement from his spot under the shade of a large tree on campus he and his friends had claimed as the Alola gang crowded around his pokenav to watch an exhibition battle between Lorelei and Bruno. Their expressions of outright amazement were something to behold. Rayna was also perched on Mallows shoulder so she too could watch, her red eyes wide with hero worship.

"I never knew a Lapras could do that!" Lana exploded passionately. "They've always seem so gentle and sweet but Lorelei's is a beast!"

"Plenty of trainers have fallen to her because they underestimated that very Pokémon," Ash added, his amusement rising.

"Ow, I have to go!" Lana squealed. "Imagine all the new waters types I could meet and how much I could learn about them! I know I want to do something with water types for a career, I just don't know what. Maybe I'll figure that out that by doing some real training and battling gyms or competing in contests?"

"If you want to learn more about water types I would suggest heading over to Cerulean City and talking to Misty. She's a water type prodigy and one of the Top Eight in Kanto."

"That sounds like a good place to start," Lana mused thoughtfully with a tilted head. "I'll have to talk to my parents. What about you Kiawe? You've dream has always been to someday be the Kahuna of Akala Island. Traveling would be really good for you."

"I think I'll finish the Island Challenge first and let my little sister get a little older so she can take over some of my chores when I leave," The older boy replied. "Then I can also use the prize money from the Island Challenge to hire extra help for the farm while I'm gone."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Lillie said with a kind smile, speaking for the first time in a while. The girl was slightly depressed about the chance of some of her friends leaving but she wouldn't get in the way of them pursuing their dreams. Because she didn't have any Pokémon there wasn't any reason for her to go on a journey. Besides, while her mother might be keeping her distance at the moment she knew without a shadow of a doubt the woman was keeping an eye on her and having her followed. The last thing she wanted was to do anything that might grab the obsessive woman's attention. "What about you Mallow? Do you think you'll be leaving?"

"I don't know," the green haired girl pondered as she leaned back and scratched the side of her nose. "It would be sorta mean to leave my dad alone with the restaurant but if I'm ever gonna achieve any of my dreams I'll have to leave eventually. And I'm still not sure if I want to be a chef or pursue Pokémon professionally. I've been doing the chef thing for a while now, maybe it's time I give Pokémon a shot?"

"I hear there's a gym in Unova run by three brothers who are also chefs," Ash butted in. "My mom loves to watch their cooking show. I don't know much else but it might be worth looking into and paying a visit. They have the same passions as you and managed to make a career out of both."

"I think I know the brothers your talking about! I just didn't know they were gym leaders also. I'll have to do some research when I get home."

"I'm gonna stay here," Sophocles added to the conversation as he stroked Togedemaru head absentmindedly. "I love Pokémon but my real dream is to be an electrical engineer. I need to stay in school."

"Do you have an videos of contests Ash?" Lana asked curiously, an excited lit in her voice.

"I don't have anything downloaded but I'm sure I can find some good ones on Poketube."

"Why don't we head to the restaurant now that's schools out so I can make a picnic for us all and then we can head to the beach for the rest of the day?" Mallow asked. "That will also give Ash time to find some really good videos."

"I'm down with that," Sophocles said joyously while rubbing his stomach. "I could do with some food about now."

General agreement chorused among the teens as they all stood to gather their things and head towards Mallow's family restaurant.

Early the next morning Ash watched Alola disappear from the window seat on his plane ride home, the rising sun just starting to appear over Wela Volcano. It was bittersweet to be leaving, the region already evoking nostalgia in him. A lot of firsts in his Pokémon journey had taken place in Alola and the small island nation would always hold a special place in his heart for it. He had made plenty of new friends that he was almost certain he would be seeing again sometime during his journey, some sooner rather than later. Ash would also never forget how Professor Kukui had generously taken him into his home without a second thought and become something of a temporary guardian to him, offering him advice and help whenever he needed or wanted it. And most importantly he had caught five new Pokémon if you included the Amaura fossil. Five new lifelong companions who he and Rayna would hopefully become a family with.

Finally, what was once the region of life in the horizon gave way to blue endless ocean and Ash leaned back in his seat, the teens mind now on his home region which he was returning to. The boy's flight would take sixteen hours but luckily the time change was working for him this time. Ash should arrive home at seven at night Kanto time, still in time to catch one last more home cooked dinner with his mother before setting out on Route 1 tomorrow morning. He would also be meeting Elite Four trainee Will at the airport who would become one of his new traveling companion until the league (aka a slightly overprotective Lance) decided the threat to his and Gary's safety had passed (not very likely) or that the boys were strong enough to fend for themselves against Team Rocket (something that would take a very, very long time).

Ash wiggled restlessly in his seat as he tried to make himself as comfortable as possible for the long flight ahead, his fingers grazing his pokeballs wistfully. Soon he could let his Pokémon out. Soon, he would be home.

* * *

 **So this chapter has been a pain in the butt and rewritten many times. It's a lot shorter than usual but I wanted to start Ash's journey in Kanto and this chapter wrapped up everything I needed it to in Alola.**

 **I originally planned a Team Skull encounter but ended up trashing it mostly because I wanted your guys opinion if you would be comfortable with how I was writing them. I think everyone is expecting Team Rocket to act like what they are what we've known them to be, the highly organized professional crime group who rules the criminal underbelly of Indigo, and encounters with them to be realistically violent and gory. Team Skull I ended up writing as more drug/alcohol gang related. They're the dropouts and runaways that turned down a dark path. They're angry at the world and cause problems for the sack of causing problems. And the characters I wrote were high, drunk and and swearing up a storm. Not to mention dropping hints of sexual assault and rape. Before I unexpectedly threw that curve ball into my story, I needed to make sure most of you would be okay with it as I know that direction is more likely to touch more people personally. So let me know what you think. I before any of you ask I believe I will be writing Magma/Agua/Galactic as radicalized religious terrorists which I know can also be a touchy subject for people.**

 **Last but not least a little hot about future shipping's. The latest episodes of Sun and Moon when Misty and Brock visit Alola totally changed my plans! Ahh! How did I not see it before!**

 **REVIEW!...it makes me happy.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ash's Pokémon:**

 **Rayna: A Riolu and Ash's starter. Female.**

 **Known Moves: Quick Attack, Foresight, Force Palm, Counter and Blinding Rush (combo of quick attack and force palm).**

 **.**

 **Ziggy: A Noibat, Male**

 **Known Moves: Tackle, Supersonic, Screech, Absorb, Gust and Confusion Bell (combo of supersonic and absorb).**

 **.**

 **Fletcher: A Rowlet, Male**

 **Known Moves: Tackle, Leafage, Growl and Peck. Is currently still recovering from starvation and not training or battling.**

 **.**

 **Noelle: An Alolan Vulpix, Female**

 **Known Moves: Powder Snow, Roar, Baby-Doll Eyes and Tail Whip.**

 **.**

 **Feebas, Female**

 **Moves Unknown**

 **.**

 **Amaura Fossil**

* * *

Stumbling tiredly out of customs at the Saffron Airport with Rayna on his shoulder Ash elbowed his way through the crowds not caring if he was rude like so many of the other weary commuters who pushed past him. Some people spared Rayna a second glance but seeing as they were at the airport the foreign Pokémon didn't warrant much attention. Following the signs towards the exit Ash kept eye out for Will but wasn't really sure what to look for figuring the Elite Four trainee would be in disguise.

"Ow Ash!" came the sing song sound of someone calling his name.

The boy turned to find a collage age man waving both arms eagerly at him near the large sliding door to go out to the taxies, earning himself glares from people that passed him. It took a moment for Ash to realize the youth before him was indeed Will. The psychic trainer had traded his famous maroon ring master outfit for slim khaki cargo shorts, tan hiking boots and an azure blue sweater that looked to be made of lighter material meant for warmer weather with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. His trademark mesh mask had been replaced with black rectangular glasses leaving his bright blue eyes visible. Will had tided his lavender shoulder length locks in a small bun and a large blue Devon Corp backpack slung from one shoulder completed the look. All in all, if Ash wasn't looking for the high-ranking league member he would have easily thought nothing remarkable of the trainer before him, mistaking Will as just another backpacker here to pick up a buddy.

"Hi, I'm Ash and this is my partner Rayna," the boy introduced himself and the Pokémon riding him as he stepped forward hand outstretched to shake Will's only to squeak stupidly as the man before him used said hand to pull the boy into a bone crushing hug.

"I know," Will proclaimed gleefully after pulling back slightly to be able to see Ash's face, a ridiculously large happy smile on his own. "Lance loves to talk about you and Gary to any Elite Four or Top eight who will listen. Seriously, it's like, we're already family even though we've just met. Which is sorta creepy, but also pretty much how the rest of league family feels anyways."

Suddenly the psychic's face turned distressed as he quickly let go of Ash and bowed low apologetically.

"I'm so sorry!" Will wailed aguishly. "I'm usually the person getting on others about always asking for permission before touching someone and here I've gone and done just that! I was just so excited to finally meet you! Please forgive me!"

"Ah, yeah, sure. You're forgiven." Ash wasn't sure what else to say. The entire situation was bizarre, and his new traveling companion's extreme mood swings were giving him whiplash. He worriedly wondered if Will was always like this.

"Thank you," the lavender haired trainer replied, shoulders sagging in relief. "Now that I've gone and made a fool of myself and a horrible first impression let's get you home. You two much be exhausted."

Before Ash could agree that he'd like nothing better than to fall into bed Rayna perked up, energized as ever considering she's spent the 16-hour flight resting in her pokeball rather than being cramped into a tiny seat listening to the couple next to him argue the entire time.

"Ri! Ri!," the fighting type cried as she pointed to a restaurant near by eagerly, obviously hungry.

Now that Ash thought about it, he was hungry too, the small stale meal served on the plane just not cutting it for him. As always when it came to matters concerning his stomach it usually won, this time beating back exhaustion.

Will smirked softly as he noticed the change in the smaller boy, his appetite legendary in Lance's stories. Ash's hunched back straightened, his tongue peaking out between his lips and his eyes dilating as he gazed at the food establishment his starter had pointed out.

"I know a great noodle place in this terminal that also serves Pokémon appropriate food if you want to catch a quick bite before heading to your place. My treat to make up for my earlier awful behavior."

"For all my Pokémon?"

"Of course, silly! They have to eat too!"

Ash hesitated for a few seconds, visions of his warm comfortable bed dancing in head. Then his stomach gave an angry growl, Rayna shot him pitiful look and such images were banished from his mind.

"Lead the way."

* * *

Not ten minutes later the two trainers and Pokémon were being ushered into a casual restaurant after requesting a large table that could fit both their teams. It was a noodle place just as Will promised, the scents of many different spices and egg drifting from the kitchen and nearby tables causing Ash's mouth to water.

The younger of the two was first to release his Pokémon. Ziggy, Fletcher and Noelle materializing onto empty chairs around the table, though Rayna quickly traded her seat in their trainer's lap with a nervous Fletcher who didn't seem comfortable with the many strangers around them. Ash felt guilty that the newest member of their team couldn't join them, but sadly the unnamed Feebas wouldn't be able to breath nor eat the food served to them. After she evolved Ash promised to himself to take the water type to any restaurant she wanted. Any establishment that could fit her impressive size that is. It would most likely have to be a place with outdoor seating. Or by the water.

"They're so cute!" Will squealed excitedly as he pulled out his own advanced Pokedex to scan Ash's team. While the teen had expected the psychic not to recognize the two Alolan Pokémon he was surprised when the pokedex turned on Ziggy. Noibat was considered a Kalosian Pokémon. While it was rare for trainers from the Europa continent to come compete in the Indigo and Silver conferences it wasn't unheard of.

"You've never seen a Noibat before?" Ash asked curiously with a tilted head, eyes flickering between Ziggy and Will.

"I've had the pleasure of seeing a few of it's evolved form Noivern compete at the conferences but never a Noibat. How _does_ this cute tiny little thing turn into such a fearsome dragon?"

Ziggy squawked indigently at being called tiny, but Ash couldn't help but nod along in agreement, especially considering how much bigger Ziggy was compared to the average Noibat of his age and experience. While he could easily see his own outgoing Sound Wave Pokémon later evolve into the terror inducing Noivern he had a harder time connecting the larger dragon to the smaller, shy, delicate looking Noibat he had seen at Verdant Cavern.

"Anyways the Noibat is Ziggy, the Vulpix is Noelle and the Rowlet is Fletcher. Sadly, Fletcher is still recovering from the situation I found him in and isn't training yet. I also recently caught a Feebas but obviously she can't be here. I'll introduce you at the Oak Ranch tomorrow."

Will shot the Pokémon a shiny bright smile as each of them were introduced but softened when he turned to Fletcher. Considering what Ash said and the Grass Quill Pokémon's own behavior it was easy for the veteran trainer to see the grass type had been abused or neglected by humans in the past. As much as the thought enraged the psychic it was obvious that the Alolan starter was now on the mend.

"Then I guess it time I introduce you to my own Pokémon! Come on out my lovies!"

The first of Will's Pokémon that Ash's eye was drawn to was the surprising inclusion of a Flareon. The feline Pokémon sat regally on the other side of the table, it's red bushy fur and even bushier yellow mane and tail groomed to perfection. It was well-known throughout Indigo that Will trained psychics, so the presence of the fire type eeveeloution was a shock.

"My goal was to evolve Mufasa into an Espeon," Will said full of humor noticing where Ash's curious eyes were. "But he had other ideas. This sneaky rascal dug a fire stone up in Mt. Moon when I wasn't looking. Really though, with a name like his I should have expected it."

"Flar!" Mufasa agreed, tossing it head.

"Hopefully London here will evolve into an Espeon," Will continued motioning to the Eevee kit in his arms. "If she doesn't that's okay too, I'll just have to try again! I might even become a secondary eeveeloution trainer! I wouldn't mind an Umbreon to use as a training partner for my Pokémon..."

"Xatu," the great green bird next to Will murmured, nudging its trainer gently. Ash couldn't believe that he didn't notice the Xatu first, it being Will's famous starter. The psychic types white, red, black and yellow markings made it look like it would blend right in on top of a totem pole. Intrigued but the doubtlessly powerful Pokémon Ash pulled out his own pokedex to scan it.

" _Xatu, the Mystic Pokémon. A flying and psychic type. Xatu is known to stand motionless while staring at the sun all day long. Some people revere it as a mystical Pokémon out of their belief that Xatu is in possession of the power to see into the future. This Xatu is female."_

"I see you noticed my absolutely wonderful starter, Helavisa," Will said fondly as he gently stocked the Xatu's beautiful crest. "Next to her Bobbi, or Bob for short."

Will was referring to his Jynx, a Pokémon that had frankly always creeped Ash out with their overly flirtatious personalities. This one thankfully wasn't batting its eyes or smooching at him like the others of its species at Oak Ranch. Instead it gave him a small gentle closed lipped smile and dignified parade wave. Its long blond hair had been tied in a low ponytail behind its back to show off the purple skinned Pokémon's slender shoulders, making Bobbi appear much smaller and petit than others of her species.

" _Jynx, the Human Shape Pokémon. An ice and psychic type. It speaks a language similar to that of humans. However, it seems to use dancing to communicate. This Jynx is Female."_

"Next we hav-."

"I can introduce myself just fine, thank you Will."

Ash jerked backwards astounded as the Slowking sitting next to Bobbi talked. Not psychically in his head like he was sure most if not all of Will Pokémon were capable of, but actually opened its mouth and talked in human speech. The Slowking openly smirked pompously at Ash's and his teams surprise before continuing on.

"I am Florian and I am the brains of this operation. Any questions you have during our future travels together you may come to me for answers. I do love helping young minds grow and I'm afraid my trainer, as adorable as he is, is rather…" Florian leaned forward and dropped his deep drawing voice in an unsuccessful attempt to keep Will from hearing what he was about to say next. "lacking in IQ."

Will scoffed playfully but said nothing, seemingly use to his Slowking's superiority complex. Though if Helavisa's glare was anything to go on she disapproved of her talking companions' attitude.

Ash, still flabbergasted, looked between the haughty Slowking and still amused Will before finally finding the words he needed to address Florian.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks. Do you mind if I scan you?"

"Not at all young trainer."

" _Slowking, the Royal Pokémon. A water and psychic type. When Slowpoke's head is bitten by the mutated Shellder on its tail, toxins enter it head and unlock an extraordinary power, evolving it into Slowking. That is if the toxins don't kill it or Shellder didn't bite Slowpoke's head off first. That is why Slowking are so rare. This Slowking is male."_

"Okay then," Ash whispered, slightly frightened. If Florian had survived all that it more than earned it's right to its lordly attitude.

"The violet swine is the brutish Donovan," Florian said as he sneered at a bipedal pig like Pokémon across from him. Said purple and black Pokémon shot Ash a huge confident smile and winked, the two black gems on its forehead twinkling under the lighting.

" _Grumpig, the Manipulate Pokémon. A psychic type. Grumpig uses the black pearls on its body to wield its fantastic powers. When it is doing so, it dances bizarrely. This Pokémon's black pearls are valuable as works of art. This Grumpig is male."_

"NEXT!" Will injected loudly before Florian could take over again. "Is Edmund. Our dear protective mother hen."

Edmund was a Gardevoir. The green Pokémon's head snapped to attention when his name had been called having been preoccupied with suspiciously glaring at the family at the table closest to them. He gave a nod and tight stressed smile before returning to his self-imposed surveillance duty.

" _Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokémon. A psychic and fairy type. Gardevoir has the psychokinetic power to distort the dimensions and create a small black hole. This Pokémon will try to protect its trainer even at the risk of its own life. This Gardevoir is Male."_

Will sighed unhappily as Edmund continued to survey the restaurant with distrust.

"I rescued Edmund from a situation I suspect is similar to the situation you found Fletcher in. He's never been able to get over his…weariness of strangers and his natural protective instincts as a Gardevoir aren't helping."

Ash felt a surge of pity for the green psychic type and held Fletcher a little closer. Fletcher would surely have insecurities for years to come due to his first trainer abandoning him, but he had already progressed farther along in his recovery than Edmund. What could have happened to the Gardevoir to make him so closed off?

"Next to Ziggy is my mighty Hypno, Lorien. Considering the moves he favors he should have been a secondary fighting type."

Lorien was bouncing his mustard colored furry leg slightly in his seat, as if he had a hard time keeping still. The pendulum that Hypno were known for was casually clipped onto a thin chain necklace, a rarity as Hypno were known to be very protective over the tools that channeled their most powerful psychic moves.

 _Hypno, the Hypnosis Pokémon. A psychic type. Always holding a pendulum that it swings at a steady rhythm; it causes drowsiness in anyone nearby. This hypno is male."_

"At last but never least currently present is Lenka."

Lenka, a Mr. Mime sitting next to Noelle was a familiar sight and provoked a nostalgic smile out of the teen. Even with Professor Oaks and Lance's help Delia had struggled in the early days to take care of Ash by herself while completing her degree. Mimey, Delia's Mr. Mime, had often looked after baby Ash while his mother worked all day long, took night classes online and then stayed up into the early hours of the morning competing her homework.

Lenka, possibly sensing Ash's fondness with her psychic powers reached over Noelle to ruffle his hair happily. The young teenage boy, who would usually would never allow such an action, could not bring himself shake off the Mr. Mime and instead pointed his pokedex at her.

 _Mr. Mime, the Barrier Pokémon. A psychic and fairy type. It creates invisible walls with its pantomiming. If you don't act impressed, it will attack you with a double slap! This Mr. Mime is female."_

"I have four other Pokémon I'm afraid you'll have to meet at a later date. They wouldn't fit well in this setting."

Ash nodded along in understanding while playing absentmindedly with the feathers at the base of Fletcher's neck causing the Rowlet to melt into a puddle of goo.

"So," Will asked as he picked up the menu. "What looks good to you?"

* * *

" _Feebas, the Fish Pokémon. A water type. It eats anything, so it can even live in polluted streams and lakes. No one pays it any attention to it. This Feebas is female and has the ability Swift Swim. This Feebas knows the moves Splash, Tackle and Flail. Its egg move is Dragon Breath."_

Ash raised an impressed eyebrow as he watched Feebas swim proud circles in front of him as his Pokedex read off her entry. Next to him Professor Oak let out a long appreciative whistle.

Ash and Will had arrived a little past ten in Pallet last night, both only staying awake long enough to briefly visit with Delia before collapsing into bed. As tired as Ash still was the next morning, he refused to break the good habits he'd spent the last four years making and pushing himself out of bed bright and early at six. His efforts had been rewarded with one last quite breakfast alongside his mom and Mimey before they set out together to Oak Ranch like they use to when Ash was a kid accompaning his mom to work during the summer.

Another perk of waking up early Ash was currently enjoying was being able to monopolize Oak's time for an hour. The professor had ventured out to his small lake with Ash to help his student judge if Feebas was ready to evolve while his staff fed the ranch Pokémon breakfast. And of course, to get a better look at the rare water type.

"Feebas are like Magikarp right?" Ash asked. Although he was pretty confident the move list he'd just read out gave him a slight bit of doubt. "They rarely learn anything other than Splash, only sometimes managing Tackle, much less a Flail."

"Your correct," Oak answered, his tone and bring eyes giving away his excitement. "Are you sure she's never had a trainer before?"

Ash, unsure, turned to Feebas who was sticking her head out of the water to follow the conversation. The water type shook her head as much as her biology would allow.

She wasn't old per se, but she wasn't young either in terms of the lifespan of a wild Pokémon, especially a Feebas. She had fought tooth and nail to survive and drive off predators in the tiny pond she used to live in. To say she hadn't learned all she could in her current form would have been an understatement. It was one of the reasons she had decided to let Ash catch her. She loved to fight but she was tiring of her life hanging in the balance in said battles. Plus considering her age it was a miracle her luck hadn't run out yet like it almost did when she met her new trainer. Continuing to stay at Brooklet Hill given the opportunity to leave with a caring trainer and finally be able to evolve would have been suicidal.

Ash and Oak, not privy to Feebas's private musings, looked on in bewilderment and an no small amount of wonder.

"While she might know more advanced attacks doesn't mean she knows how to use them well or have the strength to back them up," Oak added to the conversation as he thoughtfully rubbed his chin.

Feebas made an angry sound while Ash hummed in agreement realistically, but he had a good feeling his little water type was plenty strong and experienced.

"Feebas, use Tackle on that big rock behind you!"

Feebas, eager to prove the old man wrong and earn her prism scale, darted through the water at the obstacle in front of her while building normal type energy up around her head at the same time.

The rock didn't stand a chance. Upon impact shrapnel was sent flying out in all directions, leaving nothing left of Feebas's target.

The humans blinked dumbly in shock.

"You…you don't actually still need me to tell you Feebas is ready to evolve right?" Oak enquired incredulously as he turned to Ash, surprise written clear as day across his face.

"Nope," the boy answered once he had picked his jaw up off the floor, popping the P. "That is of course if Feebas thinks she's ready?"

The water type swam back under the water before jumping out of it with all her might, making as big a splash as possible on the way down while crying happily all the way. Nothing could quell her imminent need to convey to her trainer that this is what she wanted. This was what she had been waiting for years for.

"I'll head back to the lab to fetch a prism scale," the researcher said fondly while Ash cheered and his Pokémon continued to pull off impressive water acrobatics in excitement. "Why don't you evaluate the rest of your team while I'm gone so you can ask me any questions you might have when I get back?"

Ash calmed enough to shoot a wink over his shoulder at the still celebrating Feebas before taking off up the hill towards where the rest of his Pokémon were practicing, passing a laughing professor along the way.

Fletcher was snoozing atop a low hanging branch attached to large oak tree on top of the hill the rest of the team was training under. The poor Rowlet was still skinny, frail and easy to tire. He probably wouldn't be cleared for training until another few weeks yet.

Rayna didn't need much attention. She was practicing her perfected moves as a warmup then would move on to put the finishing touches on Endure. She was so close to having the move mastered, and most trainers would call it that, but Ash was picky. He wanted to be confident that Rayna could last against a super effective move if ever backed into a corner.

It was Ziggy and Noelle that he focused on. The two had been refining the moves they already knew ever since he caught them, and last time Ash had evaluated them a few days ago he had believed they were almost ready to move on. And watching the two he certainly thought so now.

The status moves Noelle had been practicing so hard the last week looked amazing, but he couldn't know for sure until he had her try them out on one of her teammates.

Ziggy's moves looked similarly on point, Gust and Tackle tearing up the surrounding foliage. But once again he had moves Ash couldn't know were truly mastered until they were practiced against someone.

"All right you three, come over here." Ash turned guilty eyes to Rayna as she loyally ran to his side as soon as asked. "Sooner or later we were gonna have to start practicing against each other and I'm sorry to say that day is today. I need to accurately judge the progress of Ziggy's and Noelle's status moves and you're the only target available Rayna."

The fighting type wilted but begrudgingly nodded.

It didn't take long to get through Noelle's and Ziggy's attacks. He made both Pokémon use each of their statues moves perfectly five times in a row before moving on to the next. Neither of them needed a second shot on any other their moves. Rayna pushed through it all valiantly and the few sprits of potion Ash gave her certainly helped. Nevertheless, she needed to be returned to her pokeball for a few minutes after each of Ziggy's Supersonics.

After the teen was satisfied the group meandered back down the hill towards the lake to rejoin Feebas, Fletcher is Ash's arms. The water type evolving was something the whole team wanted to be present for. It was going to be something magnificent and awe inspiring that they would all remember for the rest of their lives.

The gang didn't get much of a break, Professor Oak coming back into view not moments later.

"I hope you all don't mind if I stay to watch and videotape?" the researcher asked as he pulled a glimmering blue and pink tear drop shaped scale from his pocket. "Feebas evolutions are rare and almost never captured on camera!"

"For sure!" Ash answered giddily as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. "You're the one kind enough to gift us the stone after all."

"Think of it as an early Yule present," The professor responded with a kind smile as he stepped back and flipped out his pokenav after handing over the scale. While he would witness the evolution he didn't want to encroach more than he already was on a very special event for the team.

Ash's fingers slid over the prism scale in wonderment, marveling at its smoothness and the iridescent shimmer the scale gave off. Feebas eyed the evolution object in Ash's hand fervently, a life worth of hopes and dreams finally coming true for her.

"Fee!" The water type demanded impatiently as she swam out into the middle of the lake making sure to give her soon to be massive form plenty of room.

Ash took a deep breath to calm his excited nerves and steady his hand before throwing the prism scale out towards Feebas, the object plopping into the water about a foot from its target. The Fish Pokémon was quick to dive down under the surface after it.

For a moment everything was still. The wind didn't blow, the suns light didn't dance and not even the water rippled. It was like the world was holding its breath as Ash and his team were doing, waiting in tense anticipation. Then suddenly as the moment started it was over. The quite was broken as a shrill scream came from under the water, accompanied by a bright otherworld blue light that seemed to give off silver wisps like a sparkler. The light grew more and more intense, almost blinding those near it and reflecting off the water like gleaming stained glass until a giant head broke the surface of the lake. The figure, the source of the radiant brilliance, grew taller and taller. A smooth horn emerged from the top of its head, twin antenna like brows sprouted from above her eyes reaching towards the sky and above them two long scarf like appendages grew downwards like roots. Finally, the figure threw its mighty head to the side with a cry and the light broke like a firework exploding, making what had been hidden under it visible. There, basking in the fading sparks, was a beautiful Milotic.

Ash and his team were struck dumb in awe, not quite able to believe what they've just witnessed. His Milotic, and wasn't that an amazing thought, swam in small slow circles getting use to her new form. She bobbed one way and then the other, dove under the water and then flung herself out of it, getting faster and more agile with each repetition. Finally, when Milotic was satisfied, she approached the bank and for the first time in her life slithered ashore.

"Wow," Ash breathed, finally finding his voice. Milotic cooed as she came near and gently rested her large head against Ash's chest, almost knocking him down in the process. The water type was easily seventeen feet long and her head as large as her trainer's torso. Her body scales were a light beige color and her tail vivid blue and pink, accented by black. A slightly lighter pink painter Milotic's antennas and long eyebrows that made her deep magenta eyes pop. Everything about her seemed to sparkle.

"How are you feeling?" the teen asked finally coming back to himself. "Any pain or discomfort?"

The great water type shook her head before turning her attention to her teammates. While Rayna, Ziggy and Fletcher didn't know how to approach the Pokémon that was now so much bigger than them Noelle had no such reservation. The ice type was quick to spring at Milotic's heavy eyebrows, batting and growling at them like she would a toy. The larger Pokémon pulled back in shock and swung her head around, but Noelle playfully latched on, bringing herself along for the ride.

"Noelle let go!" Ash yelled sternly as he took off after Milotic and her tagalong worried that one of them would get hurt. Miraculously the ice type listened to him, dropping to the ground and hanging her head dejectedly. Her trainer had never raised his voice with her before. He usually enjoyed the pranks she pulled and never once tried to stop her from having fun as long as it wasn't taking away from training. It was one of the reasons she liked him so much.

"You can't do that Noelle," the teen admonished when he caught up and bent down to the Fox Pokémon's height. "I know Milotic looks fun to play with but she a living thing, not a toy. Not to mention she just evolved and's really sensitive right now. You could have hurt her, and she could have hurt you by accident trying to get you off. I love your mischievous personality but you gotta promise me you'll think about if what you're about to do could hurt you or others before anymore pranks from now on. Can you do that?"

"Vul!" Noelle cried as she eagerly nodded her head and licked Ash's cheek, blinking back tears. She had just wanted to have fun and show her teammates that Milotic wasn't so scary! The ice type never meant to hurt anyone. And looking back she could see where she was lucky she never had. While the ice patches Noelle liked to form under people's feet couldn't hurt other durable Pokémon, she could have easily sent Ash to the hospital if he had landed wrong or hit his head. Thankfully she had only played that particular prank on her trainer once up in the mountain he caught her in where the only thing Ash could've hit was cushioning snow.

"Miii," Milotic sang gently as she too lowered her head to be level with Noelle. The water type nudged the Fox Pokémon kindly before motioning for her teammate to climb on. Letting out a joyous yowl the young Vulpix sprang onto Milotic head and danced happily as the water type rose back up to her proper height. Before long, with a little coaxing from Milotic, Noelle was sliding down her friends back and up her tail before sailing into the water squealing excitedly the whole way. Minutes later Rayna was in on the action too, cheerily using her large teammate as a waterslide. Neither of their flying type companions wanted to get their wings wet so Ziggy opted to fly circles around Milotic's head cheering on his female peers. Fletcher choose to perch atop Milotic's head and play lifeguard, taking it upon himself to make sure whoever had just slid down Milotic's back was out of the drop zone before letting the other go down.

Ash watched the team bonding fondly as he lounged on the lake front. Professor Oak had headed back to his lab sometime after the impromptu play session started. The teens one track mind had hoped to get Ziggy and Noelle started on some new moves right away but that could wait a bit longer. For now, he would let his newfound family enjoy the last little bit of summer before the rainy season started and the temperature began to cool. According to the forecast the first big rainstorm could be expected late next week. His only regret was leaving his swim trunks in his bag back home.

Not one to stay still and no nothing for long the teen was soon pulling out his pokedex and scanning his freshly evolved Pokémon.

" _Milotic, the Tender Pokémon. A water type. Milotic is breathtakingly beautiful. When this Pokémon's body glows a vivid pink, it releases a pulsing wave of energy that brings soothing clam to troubled hearts. This Milotic is Female and has the ability Marvel Scale. This Milotic knows the moves Splash, Tackle, Flail, Water Gun and Wrap. Its egg move is Dragon Breath."_

Ash nodded along with the incoming information. It wasn't a surprise Milotic learned two new moves upon evolving. While the water type inherently knew how to use Water Gun and Wrap now the attacks were no where near mastered. Just like learning a move through a TM. Studying Pokémon that learned new moves through evolving was actually how TM technology was created.

Next Ash started browsing possible nicknames for Milotic over the web. If the Tender Pokémon wanted a name she was well overdue for one. The boy looked for names as unique as the intended recipient and ones that meant either shining, light or sparkle. Things Ash thought fit the new Milotic well. Even an hour after evolving and mud cracked to her belly scales the water type still gave off an otherworldly shine in the morning sun. After the trainer thought he had a good variety for his newest Pokémon to choose from he called a break to the playing and beckoned Milotic over.

"I've been looking at some possible nicknames for you," Ash spoke as Milotic curled around him on the grass, resting her great head next to his lounging form. "That is if you're interested in one?"

"Mi," the creature cooed softly with a slight nod of her head. She had been waiting for her trainer to ask considering that the rest of her teammates had their own special titles.

"Cool. What do you think about Thea?"

Milotic considered it briefly before tilting her head to the side in what Ash thought could mean possibly.

"We'll come back to that one then. Noreen?"

The water type eyebrows scrunched with disgust and gave a firm head shake.

"That one's out then. Eilora?"

Milotic contemplated this one slightly longer than the last but still shook her head no.

"Clara?"

The Tender Pokémon hesitated much longer this time. When it looked like she wouldn't be coming to a decision anytime soon Ash decided to move on.

"We'll consider those two again once we've be through the rest of the names. What do you think about Amaryllis?"

This time Milotic's head popped up, her eyes shining.

"You like that one?"

Milotic nodded her head urgently.

"Better than Thea or Clara?"

Another nod.

"The last two names I have are Lucy and Ziya. Do you like Amaryllis better than those?"

Another eager head nod. The water type seemed to be getting exasperated with him now.

"Do you want me to look for anymore names or is Amaryllis the one?"

"Miii," the Milotic cooed impatiently and nudged Ash softly, letting him know just how silly she thought he was being.

"Okay, okay!" the trainer laughed as he pulled up a new screen on his pokenav and updated the Tender Pokémon's information on his trainers' card.

"See," the boy said as flipped the pokenav around to show the water type the screen. "You're officially Amaryllis now."

Amaryllis cooed happily and gave Ash one last quick nudge in parting before slithering back to the water.

Ash stood and stretched, catching a quick glance of his watch as his hands extended above his head. 9:15 AM. Ash and Will had talked about leaving 11:00 AM the night before which gave the young trainer about another hour to work with his team before they should start heading home.

"Play times over guys!" Ash called down to his team still splashing in the lake. "Time to get back to work. Don't give me that look Ziggy, you get to learn a new move!"

Within a few minutes Rayna was back atop the hill under the big oak practicing Endure while Fletcher watched her lazily from his branch. The rest of the team was gathered in a semi-circle around Ash waiting for instruction.

"Amaryllis I want you to head into the water and practice your old moves in your new form. When you think you got the hang of them let me know. Noelle you can find someplace near by but out of the way to practice Powder Snow as a warmup and I'll be over soon to go over your new move." Once the two girls had moved off to follow Ash's directions the teen turned to Ziggy.

"You're gonna start learning Agility today."

"Nio!" the dragon complained loudly and stamped his tiny foot on the ground. He was so sick of status moves and had been looking toward to learning a cool attack!

"I know it's not the flashiest move but I really think it'll help you with your flying which is our main goal right now. While you're getting better, you're still pretty much a sitting duck in the air to any opponent with a long-ranged attack. After you master this one I'll teach you a damaging move. That sound good to you?"

Ziggy begrudgingly nodded his head. While he wasn't all that excited he could see his trainers' point. Flying should be one of his best advantages but at the moment it was one of his worst disadvantages.

"Good. Agility is a psychic type move, a move not naturally in your wheelhouse so we're going to begin with teaching you how to harness different types of energy. To do that you're gonna start by meditating. Sit down like me and…"

Ash proceeded to spend the next half hour going over meditative techniques with Ziggy. The young dragon didn't like to stay still or be calm and was going to struggle just like Ash did when he first started learning. Ziggy's efforts would pay off though. Once he learned to sense the different types of energy around him, tell the differences between them and then utilize it learning new moves would come much easier.

Confident that Ziggy could manage on his own now Ash moves on to Noelle who by now had gotten board and started making piles of snow to play in.

"You ready Noelle?" the teen asked as he came to a stop in front of a particularly large snow drift. The Fox Pokémon's head busted out of the top of the pile exuberantly sending small chucks of ice flying.

"Vu!" The ice type yelped happily as she climbed out of her self-made playground and shook herself off.

"You'll be learning Ice Shard. It's pretty much the next step up from Powder Snow so it should come pretty easily to you. According to the pokedex you'll start just like Powder Snow but instead of letting the energy go right away you'll want to condense it into an ice ball before launching it. Does that make sense?"

Noelle nodded firmly; her former playful attitude gone. Eyes narrowed the small white creature open mouth began to fill with a blue silvery energy. Instead of flying forward like usual in a powerful Powder Snow the energy stayed put, starting to freeze into a rock-solid Ice Shard in front of Noelle's open maw.

"Launch now!" Ash commanded with a large dopy grin disbelieving of how easy the new move had been for Noelle to pick up.

The ice type threw back her head and with a mighty cry threw the Ice Shard with all her might…only to send it skidding two feet forward where it came to an unceremonious stop the ground.

"Well," Ash said lamely as he and Noelle started at the Ice Shard laying mockingly in front of them. "That was a great first try. Why don't you try launching it the same way you would a Powder Snow this time instead of with physical force?"

Noelle's next attempt went slightly better than the last. This time the Ice Shard went sailing a good seven feet before harmlessly plopping to the ground.

"That was better. Just work on perfecting forming the Ice Shard for now and we can worry about launching and aim later. One step at a time right?"

"Vu," Noelle agreed briskly before getting back to work. Ash smirked lightly at the Fox Pokémon's determination. He'd bet money that she'd have the first part of Ice Shard mastered before they reached Viridian.

"Miii," Amaryllis called from the lake where she'd been waiting impatiently for Ash to finish up with Noelle.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," the boy soothed amusedly as he jogged over. "Let's see what you got."

Amaryllis's Splash and Flail were perfection. But that wasn't saying much as Splash wasn't even a move really. It was just flailing your body around to make as much of a ruckus in the water as possible. Flail was pretty much the same thing expect it had some normal type energy thrown in and could be done on land. It was Tackle Ash wanted to see.

And it was amazing. This time Amaryllis aimed for large boulder rather than the medium sized rock she had hours earlier as a Feebas. Instead of just shattering the obstacle this time Amaryllis sailed right through it, completely obliterating the boulder.

While Ash wanted to celebrate, he could pick up some problems in the water types technique. Amaryllis wasn't as fast as she could be. In fact, she seemed to be having a hard time picking up speed when moving in a straight line which was more of a problem she was having adjusting to her new from rather than an issue with Tackle.

"That was great, but your swimming could use some work. It looks like you're having difficulties swimming in a straight line?"

Amaryllis dipped her head and let out a pitiful coo, her disappointment with herself obvious.

"It's okay! You just evolved into a form very different than the one you've lived in all your life. I actually expected you to struggle more. Go practice swimming straight lines but don't go to far, we're gonna leave soon."

And they did leave twenty minutes later. Ziggy was still having trouble with meditating but that was to be expected. Noelle was forming Ice Shards lickidy split which was no surprise considering she had been using the same technique to form the ice patches she used to prank people. Now she needed to work on condensing the ice as hard as possible while still controlling the size of it and staying fast while doing so. Amaryllis was making progress with her swimming. It seemed the problem was her new lack of side fins to help keep her balanced. She was going to have to learn how to move her new serpentine body in a way that would keep her straight while moving.

After returning everyone but Rayna who jogged along beside him, Ash headed back to the house to pick up his backpack and meet Will. He had already said goodbye to his mom in the morning when they had parted ways once arriving at the lab. It wouldn't be long before they saw each other again though. Mimey could Teleport Delia to visit Ash whenever they wanted on her days off. And Ash had promised to schedule all his gym battles for later in the afternoon once Delia was off work on weekdays so she could come and watch.

Will was in the front yard with his team when Ash arrived home. They were all sitting in a circle meditating. Even the Eevee London and Flareon Mufasa. Among them were several Pokémon Ash hadn't met at the restaurant the night before. The most recognizable was a serene looking Alakazam, its long mustache marking it as male. The only other Pokémon Ash was able to identify was an Exeggutor, its branches swaying in the breeze. The other two Pokémon were unfamiliar, so Ash pulled out his pokedex to scan them.

" _Girafarig, the Long Neck Pokémon. A normal and psychic type. Girafarig's rear head also has a brain, but it is small. The rear head attacks in response to smells and sounds. Approaching this Pokémon from behind can cause the rear head to suddenly lash out and bite. This Girafarig is Female."_

" _Bronzong, the Bronze Bell Pokémon. A steel and psychic type. It brought rains by opening portals to another world. It was revered as a bringer of plentiful harvests. All Bronzong are genderless."_

Curiosity satisfied Ash crept to the front porch and into the house, giving the head on Girafarig's head a wide berth. His backpack was exactly where he left it last night, dumped at the foot of his bed. After double checking that he had everything he needed the teen swung the pack over his shoulder before heading back downstairs.

Will was waiting for Ash on the porch. This team all returned except for London, Mufasa and his great Xatu Helavisa.

"You all set?" the older trainer asked as he stood gracefully in one fluid motion.

"Yeah," the boy answered emotionally as he glanced back at his childhood home. While he'd always have a room here and be back to visit, he doubted he would ever live here full time again. Stepping past the gate felt like graduation at Pokémon school had but worse. full of pride, excitement and anticipation but also nostalgia and a yearning for childhood. Back when he helped his mom care for the flowers in the front garden or made snow forts on the lawn with Mimey. Back when things had been easy and simple. But those day were over, and Ash had a dream to fulfill.

"Let's go."

Will seemed to understand what he was feeling because he didn't try to start up a conversation. Instead the two walked in silent pilgrimage as they turned their backs on Pallet and started down Route One.

* * *

 **I'm finally finished with this chapter! Woo Hoo!**

 **Will is so much fun to write so I hope you guys enjoyed meeting him as much as I did! And what did everyone think of Amaryllis? The nickname is a bit of a mouthful I know but once I considered it nothing else measured up. It was just too perfect!**

 **Next chapter Ash's Kanto Journey officially starts…with an almost full team! Are you guys excited? Cuz I am! And I have one more Pokémon to add to the roster in the coming chapters before we're done for quite a while.**

 **Fair warning going into Kanto, any Pokémon that appeared in Kanto in any game can be used as a native Pokémon as far as I'm concerned. That means Pokémon that appeared in Gold, Silver, Crystal and any of the spin off's in Kanto is fair game. It never made sense to me Kanto Pokémon appear in other regions but Pokémon from other regions never appear in Kanto as the Pokémon World got larger.**

 **As some of you might have noticed the seasons will actually be changing in this story. And that means weather that isn't just pleasantly warm and sunny with the odd storm thrown in like the anime. I'm looking forward to writing how that will affect Ash's journey.**

 **I'm also including the Galar region in this story. I wouldn't be mentioning it in anymore than passing until we get more information though.**

 **And as always REVIEW!...it makes me happy.**


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